AN  mOLISH  VIEW 


OF 


CHRISTIAN  SGMaGE 


ANNE  HARWOOD 


6  25 


tl|?  Sltbrarif  of 
Prtnrrtnn  Slt}wl00tral  &^mtnarQ 


AN  ENGLISH  VIEW  OF 

CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE 


AN    EXPOSURE 


/BY 

ANNE  HARWOOD 


New  York        Chicago        Toronto 

Fleming   H.  Revell   Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1899 

by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


Contents 


CHAPTER   I 

PAGB 

How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science      .       .      5 

CHAPTER  II 
The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science     .        ,    26 

CHAPTER  III 
Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture?         .        .        .43 

CHAPTER  IV 
A  Fancied  Cure  and  a  Relapse       .       •       •       .62 

CHAPTER  V 
A  Final  Exposure 79 


CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE 

CHAPTER  I 

HOW   I  FIRST  HEARD  OF  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE 

I  MUST  begin  this  narrative  by  explaining  that 
I  am  an  assistant  mistress  in  a  London  High- 
school,  with  a  salary  of  jQS^.  My  only  living 
relative  is  my  sister,  Mrs.  Crowell.  Usually  I 
spend  my  summer  holidays  at  her  home  in  York- 
shire, but  this  year  her  husband  had  arranged 
to  take  her  for  a  six  weeks'  tour  in  Switzerland ; 
and,  as  it  would  have  been  too  expensive  for  me 
to  accompany  them,  I  found  myself  at  the  end 
of  term  in  a  very  unfortunate  position.  An  in- 
come of  £S^  does  not  go  far  in  London,  and, 
although  by  strict  economy  and  by  sharing  rooms 
with  my  old  Newnham  friend,  Helen  Dalziel,  I 
can  make  ends  meet  during  term-time,  I  find 
that  my  salary  leaves  very  little  margin  for  holi- 
days. This  year  I  have  had  the  additional  ex- 
pense of  a  doctor's  bill,  for  during  the  Easter 
term  I  had  a  severe  attack  of  influenza,  to  which 

5 


Christian    Science 

I  attribute  the  wretchedly  nervous  condition  in 
which  I  have  remained  all  summer.  As  my  sister 
was  absent  from  England,  I  had  no  alternative 
but  to  spend  my  holidays  in  London.  Helen 
Dalziel's  brother,  the  editor  of  the  Fortnightly 
Journal  of  Science,  had  promised  me  some  re- 
search work  at  the  British  Museum,  so  that  I 
hoped  to  add  a  few  pounds  to  my  income. 

Helen  did  not  at  all  approve  of  my  keeping  on 
our  rooms  during  August  and  September.  *'  You 
are  on  the  verge  of  a  nervous  breakdown,"  she 
said,  when  we  came  home  from  the  last  morning 
at  school,  each  laden  with  baskets  of  flowers 
which  our  girls  had  presented  to  us.  Usually  I 
delight  in  my  flowers,  but  this  year  I  looked  at 
them  without  the  smallest  interest  or  pleasure. 

*'Why  not  come  with  us  to  Ilfracombe.?" 
Helen  continued.  "We  are  a  noisy,  large  fam- 
ily, and  will  find  you  plenty  of  amusement. 
You  are  taking  a  serious  risk,  I  assure  you,  Anne, 
dear,  in  remaining  in  town  in  your  present  state 
of  health.  You  have  all  the  worst  symptoms — 
sleeplessness,  depression,  nervous  irritability — 
and  you  have  forgotten  our  old  rule  that  Miss 
Duncombe's  disagreeable  remarks  must  not  be 
taken  seriously." 

Miss  Duncombe  is  our  head  mistress,  and  she 

6 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

had  been  greatly  annoyed  because  my  form  had 
done  badly  in  the  examinations  at  the  end  of 
term.  The  inspector  had  commented  sharply  on 
their  backwardness  in  geography;  Miss  Dun- 
combe  had  repeated  his  remarks  to  me,  adding 
that,  while  she  understood  that  I  had  not  been 
quite  myself  during  the  summer,  it  was  most 
important  for  my  future  that  the  form  should  re- 
cover ground  next  term. 

I  wonder  if  any  of  my  readers  understand  the 
deep  depression  which  sometimes  overtakes  a 
teacher  at  the  close  of  examination  week.  She 
sits  up  for  three  or  four  nights  correcting  papers, 
and  then  comes  the  miserable  discovery  that  her 
girls  are  doing  badly,  that  her  head  mistress  is 
dissatisfied,  and  that  her  own  prospects  in  the 
school  are  uncertain.  I  was  thirty-one  last  Feb- 
ruary, and  I  am  sadly  conscious  that  to  be  an  as- 
sistant mistress  at  that  age,  absolutely  dependent 
on  my  own  exertions,  cannot  exactly  be  called 
success  in  life.  I  have  several  times  applied  for 
vacant  headships,  but  have  never  been  one  of 
the  fortunate  candidates  selected  to  meet  the 
committee.  Helen  Dalziel  is  four  years  younger 
than  I  am,  but  she  has  twice  been  very  nearly 
chosen  for  important  schools.  It  is  evident  that 
our  council  consider  her  the  type  of  a  successful 


Christian    Science 

teacher,  and  that  they  look  upon  me  as  a  failure. 
Helen  is  lively,  high-spirited,  very  strong,  and 
very  fond  of  games.  She  has  the  art  of  pleasing 
parents,  and  is  the  idol  of  Miss  Duncombe.  Her 
father  is  a  well-to-do  manufacturer  in  Lancashire, 
and  it  is  only  because  the  family  is  large  and  the 
home  overcrowded  that  he  consented  to  allow 
her  to  earn  her  own  living.  She  has  never 
known  a  day's  anxiety  about  money.  It  was 
kind  of  her  to  invite  me  to  Ilfracombe,  but  I 
should  be  out  of  place  in  my  old  school  serge 
among  these  rich,  fashionable  people,  and,  be- 
sides, I  was  too  independent  to  take  favors  from 
Helen  Dalziel's  parents,  who  invited  me  only 
from  pity  and  to  please  their  daughter.  No;  I 
determined  to  fight  out  the  holidays  in  London. 
On  the  27th  of  July  I  parted  from  my  friend  at 
Paddington  Station,  and  her  last  words  were, 
'*  My  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Dalziel,  has  promised  to 
look  after  you." 

Languidly  I  dragged  myself  back  to  my  rooms. 
It  seemed  as  if  London  had  never  been  so  full  of 
intolerable  noises.  The  air  was  hot  and  heavy, 
and  the  faces  of  the  people  who  passed  me  had 
a  weary  expression.  I  looked  at  them  without 
sympathy,  for  my  mind  was  altogether  absorbed 

in  its  own  troubles.     How  had  I  come  to  feel  so 
8 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

ill  ?  Should  I  ever  be  able  to  shake  off  this  pros- 
tration, this  weakness,  this  haunting  presenti- 
ment of  evil  ?  There  were  many  Londoners  who 
worked  hard  and  had  no  holiday,  yet  they  en- 
dured the  burning  weather  without  harm  to 
health  or  spirits.  Mrs.  Brown,  who  keeps  the 
news-agent's  shop  in  our  street,  told  me  that  her 
last  holiday  was  a  week  spent  at  Margate,  in 
1895.  She  was  always  cheerful.  Why  was  I 
so  different  ? 

On  the  last  Sunday  of  the  term  I  went  to  the 
Congregational  church,  of  which  I  am  a  member. 
The  minister  had  gone  away  for  seven  weeks, 
and  more  than  half  of  the  members  were  absent. 
Those  who  remained  were  a  melancholy  hand- 
ful, pale-faced  and  apathetic,  as  if  their  vitality 
had  been  sapped  by  the  excessive  heat.  The 
stranger  who  occupied  the  pulpit  prayed  with 
great  earnestness  for  the  pastor  that  he  might  be 
refreshed  by  his  holiday,  and  for  the  families 
"who  are  seeking  to  renew  their  strength  by  the 
sea,  and  amongst  the  mountains,  and  in  quiet 
country  places."  The  words  sent  a  thrill  of  envy 
to  my  heart.  Why  did  he  not  rather  pray  for  us 
who  were  left  behind  in  the  hot  streets  and  the 
stifling  houses  of  London  ?    The  subject  was 

''Lessons  from  the  Life  of  Ahab,"  and  I  could 
9 


Christian    Science 

not  help  wishing  that  preachers  in  London 
churches  during  the  holiday  season  would  choose 
some  of  the  restful,  soothing,  and  refreshing 
texts  which  are  to  be  found  on  almost  every 
page  of  the  Bible.  If  they  would  consider  the 
needs  of  their  congregations  in  this  respect,  our 
churches  would  not  be  so  empty  as  they  often 
are  in  August. 

When  I  returned  to  my  lodgings  I  found  a  let- 
ter on  the  table.  It  was  from  Mrs.  Dalziel,  and 
contained  an  invitation  to  dine  with  her  that 
evening. 

There  is  not  a  more  sympathetic  woman  in  the 
world  than  Helen's  sister-in-law.  She  saw  at 
once  that  I  was  looking  ill,  and  refused  to  allow 
me  to  return  to  my  lodgings  that  evening. 

*Mf  you  will  stay  here  only  a  week  1  believe  I 
can  cure  you,  or,  at  any  rate,  Miss  Camilla  Van- 
derbruggen  can  and  will.  She  is  coming  on 
Sunday  to  tell  me  all  about  Christian  Science." 

Mrs.  Dalziel  is  rich,  and  has  no  children,  so 
she  finds  time  to  interest  herself  in  all  the  fash- 
ionable "religions"  of  the  day.  She  is  present 
at  theosophical  lectures,  spiritualistic  seances, 
sermons  by  Father  Ignatius,  and  addresses  by 
learned  Hindus.  I  concluded  that  Christian  Sci- 
ence must  be  the  latest  of  her  innumerable  fads. 

10 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

She  knows  all  the  byways  of  religious  thought  in 
London,  goes  everywhere  and  hears  every  one, 
yet  never  seems  to  be  influenced  for  the  worse. 
The  impressions  she  receives  are  superficial. 
Helen  once  said  to  me  that  Mrs.  Dalziel's  charac- 
ter was  a  perfect  illustration  of  Matthew  Arnold's 
words,  *' Light  half-believers  in  our  casual 
creeds."  She  is  a  very  pretty  woman,  young, 
petted,  perhaps  a  little  spoiled,  and  wears  aesthetic 
dresses  in  a  peculiar  shade  of  soft  blue.  She 
has  money  and  health  and  an  adoring  husband; 
in  fact,  her  lot  is  the  opposite  in  every  respect 
from  that  of  a  poor  high-school  mistress  like 
myself. 

"I  believe  in  Christian  Science,"  Mrs.  Dalziel 
said,  as  we  were  talking  after  dinner.  "  It  is  not 
one  of  the  silly  crazes  which  flash  across  London 
and  disappear.  If  you  stay  here  till  Sunday  I 
will  take  you  to  a  Christian  Science  church.  Be- 
fore long  a  second  church  will  be  built  in  Lon- 
don; and  in  time,  I  believe,  Christian  Science 
will  be  as  popular  in  England  as  it  already  is  in 
the  United  States,  where  there  are  between  two 
and  three  hundred  churches." 

Mrs.  Dalziel  handed  me  the  new  number  of  the 

Christian  Science  Journal,  a  handsome  monthly 

magazine  something  like  our  Fortnightly  Review. 
11 


Christian    Science 

It  is  published  in  Boston,  and  is  now  in  its  six- 
teenth volume.  This  magazine  was  founded  in 
April,  1883,  by  the  lady  who  professes  to  have 
discovered  Christian  Science,  and  whose  name 
appears  on  the  cover  as  ''The  Rev.  Mary  Baker 
G.  Eddy."  The  most  interesting  part  of  the 
magazine  to  me  was  the  Directory  of  Christian 
Science  Practitioners  at  the  end.  The  names  fill 
twenty-two  closely  printed  pages.  A  separate 
list  is  given  for  each  state,  and  there  are  sub- 
headings for  all  the  chief  towns.  Judging  from 
this  list  of  names,  the  popularity  of  Christian 
Science  varies  greatly  in  different  parts  of  Amer- 
ica. Arkansas  has  only  five  healers,  Alabama 
only  two,  while  Chicago  alone  has  over  seventy. 
By  far  the  larger  proportion  of  names  are  those 
of  women.  Turning  to  our  own  side  of  the  At- 
lantic, I  saw  that  London  has  four  Christian 
Science  practitioners,  Scotland  two,  France  three, 
and  Germany  two. 

"Do  you  think  there  can  be  patients  enough 
to  employ  these  many  hundreds  of  healers?"  I 
inquired  of  Mrs.  Dalziel. 

**In  America  there  are  patients  in  abundance, 
and  in  England  there  soon  will  be  multitudes." 

*'Do  the  healers  give  their  services  gratui- 
tously ?  " 

12 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

''Certainly  not.  Why  should  they,  any  more 
than  the  ordinary  physician  ?  But  their  fees  will 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  doctors.  I  in- 
quired at  their  headquarters  last  week  what 
charge  is  made  to  patients,  and  I  was  told  eight 
shillings  for  the  first  visit  and  four  shillings  for 
each  successive  visit.  Do  not  distress  yourself 
on  that  account,  my  dear  girl,  for  I  shall  be  only 
too  delighted  to  pay  for  you,  and  I  am  quite  sure 
that  when  one  is  in  a  low,  nervous  state  as  the 
result  of  overwork,  Christian  Science  will  do 
more  good  than  a  hundred  doctors.  It  will  be  a 
great  pleasure  for  me  to  keep  you  here  during 
the  holidays  and  to  watch  your  cure.  I  should 
like  to  have  tested  the  merits  of  Christian  Science 
for  myself  personally,  but  I  am  so  absurdly  well 
and  strong  that  my  healer  would  not  have  a 
chance." 

"  But  seriously,  Mrs.  Dalziel,  do  you  believe 
there  is  anything  in  it  ?  " 

**Yes,  I  believe  it  is  a  great  revelation  to  the 
modern  world.  Life  in  this  nineteenth  century 
has  become  so  unwholesome  and  so  unnatural 
that  nearly  every  one  is  in  need  of  healing.  In 
the  first  age  of  Christianity  it  was  by  miracles  of 
healing  that  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  drew  the 
attention  of  the  world.    The  disciples  were  sent 

13 


Christian    Science 

forth  with  the  express  command,  'Heal  the  sick.' 
'  They  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall 
recover,'  was  the  gift  of  the  ascending  Lord  to 
His  believing  people.  Why  has  this  great  gift 
of  healing  disappeared  ?  Why  do  we  trust  to 
doctors  and  to  medicines,  when  Christ  and  the 
Apostles  wrought  their  cures  without  them.?" 

"Then  is  Christian  Science  only  another  form 
of  faith-healing  ?  " 

**Not  at  all;  it  is  entirely  different.  Miss  Van- 
derbruggen  will  explain  to  us  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  two.  Christian  Science  is  something 
far  grander,  far  more  trustworthy,  far  more  har- 
monious with  the  spirit  of  the  universe,  than 
faith-healing." 

''Was  St.  James  a  Christian  Scientist  when  he 
commanded  the  sick  to  call  not  for  the  physician, 
but  for  the  elders  of  the  church  ?" 

"He  may  have  had  some  foreshadowing  of 
Mrs.  Eddy's  marvellous  discovery,"  Mrs.  Dalziel 
replied,  with  a  seriousness  which  I  could  see  was 
perfectly  genuine;  "but  the  revelation  of  Chris- 
tian Science  was  made  to  the  founder  in  1866, 
after  she  had  passed  through  a  marvellous  series 
of  preparatory  experiences.  I  should  like  you 
some  day  to  read  her  autobiography,  Retrospec- 
tion and  Introspection,  in  which  her  spiritual  his- 
14 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

lory  is  simply  and  beautifully  told.  As  a  child 
she  was  marked  out  for  some  great  and  special 
revelation.  Like  Joan  of  Arc,  she  heard  voices 
and  received  a  call  from  heaven.  She  tells  us 
that  during  twenty  years  prior  to  her  discovery 
she  had  been  trying  to  trace  all  physical  effects 
to  a  mental  cause;  at  length  she  learned  the  great 
truth  that  matter  is  unreal,  and  that  spirit  is  the 
only  reality.  Sickness  is  a  belief,  a  latent  fear, 
which  Christian  Science  can  dispel.  You  will 
learn  all  about  it  next  Sunday." 

I  gratefully  accepted  Mrs.  Dalziel's  invitation, 
for  my  curiosity  was  thoroughly  aroused  with 
regard  to  the  new  religion.  I  was  painfully  con- 
scious that,  so  long  as  my  health  continued  in  its 
present  wretched  state,  I  could  not  hope  to  re- 
sume my  work  with  any  advantage  to  my  pupils. 
In  spite  of  my  comfortable  surroundings,  I  still 
slept  badly,  and  was  haunted  with  strange  fore- 
bodings. My  thoughts  were  almost  always  bf  a 
gloomy  cast.  When  I  sat  down  to  write  a  letter, 
1  felt  my  head  confused  and  tired;  often  I  found 
it  impossible  to  frame  an  intelligible  sentence.  I 
dreaded  to  be  alone,  yet  I  feared  to  meet  people. 
But  for  the  new  hope  with  which  my  hostess 
had  inspired  me,  I  must  have  broken  down  alto- 
gether. 

15 


Christian    Science 


A  SERVICE  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  CHURCH 

Shortly  before  half-past  eleven  on  Sunday 
morning  we  found  ourselves  in  Bryanston  Street, 
a  quiet  thoroughfare  which  runs  behind  Oxford 
Street  at  its  extreme  west  end,  and  which  opens 
into  the  Edgware  Road.  There  is  only  one  con- 
spicuous public  building  in  the  street,  and  that  is 
the  Christian  Science  temple.  Above  its  porch 
is  the  inscription,  ''  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scien- 
tist." In  its  style  of  architecture  and  its  outward 
appearance  generally  it  does  not  differ  from  the 
ordinary  Nonconformist  chapel.  There  is  a  hall 
on  the  ground  floor,  but  the  morning  service  was 
held  in  an  upper  room,  to  which  access  is  gained 
by  two  staircases.  This  room  is  spacious  and 
sunny,  and  might  hold  when  full  perhaps  five 
hundred  people.  There  are  no  pews,  but  long 
rows  of  chairs  are  set  ready  for  the  congrega- 
tion, and  on  the  chairs  are  disposed  copies  of  the 
Christian  Science  Hymnal,  a  large  brown  volume 
containing  tunes  as  well  as  words.  At  one  end 
of  the  room  there  is  a  raised  platform,  and  on  it 
are  two  desks  and  two  carved  chairs.  A  piano 
stands  in  the  corner  near  one  of  the  windows. 
Bright  flowers  are  arranged  in  vases  on  the  plat- 
form, and  as  the  hall  is  upholstered  in  cream 

16 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

color  and  pale  green,  it  has  the  aspect  of  a  pretty 
and  cheerful  drawing-room  or  ballroom. 

On  the  morning  of  our  visit  about  one  hundred 
persons  were  present,  four-fifths  being  women. 
They  were  of  all  ages,  and  seemed  to  belong  en- 
tirely to  the  richer  classes.  I  did  not  notice  a 
single  shabbily  dressed  figure  in  the  room.  I  had 
half  expected  to  see  a  good  many  eccentric-look- 
ing people,  but  there  were  not  more  than  two  or 
three  who  could  be  classed  without  hesitation  as 
''cranks,"  or  whose  appearance  would  have  at- 
tracted attention  in  the  street.  The  congregation 
seemed  well  acquainted  with  each  other;  friendly 
greetings  were  exchanged  during  the  time  of 
waiting.  Some  of  the  members  were  studying 
the  hymn-book,  and  1  followed  their  example. 
It  contained  many  hymns  which  were  quite  un- 
known  to  me,  and  also  portions  of  well-known 
hymns  which  had  been  freely  altered.  The  aver- 
age length  of  each  was  only  two  or  three  verses. 
It  was  interesting  to  learn  that  this  book  is  used 
in  all  the  Christian  Science  churches  of  America, 
whose  collective  membership  numbers  50,000. 
Mrs.  Dalziel  had  told  me  that,  while  the  full  de- 
nominational membership  is  put  at  50,000^  the 
number  of  adherents  and  church  attendants  adds 

more    than    200,000  in  the  United  States  and 
17 


Christian    Science 

Canada.  The  official  ministry,  she  had  further 
informed  me,  is  composed  of  Church  Readers, 
missionaries,  and  healers. 

By  half- past  eleven  the  two  Readers  of  the 
London  church,  both  ladies  in  the  prime  of  life, 
had  taken  their  places  at  the  desks,  and  the  serv- 
ice began  with  the  singing  of  a  short  hymn. 
Then  followed  the  reading  of  passages  from  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  then  an  interval 
for  silent  prayer.  There  was  no  public  prayer, 
either  liturgical  or  extempore,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Christian 
Scientists  recite  even  this  after  their  own  peculiar 
fashion.  The  first  Reader,  and  the  congregation 
along  with  her,  recite  the  petitions  one  by  one  as 
given  in  Scripture,  and  the  other  Reader  adds  to 
each  petition  some  saying  founded  on  Mrs.  Eddy's 
Science  and  Health,  the  great  text-book  of  Chris- 
tian Science.  For  instance,  after  the  words  "Thy 
kingdom  come"  the  second  Reader  solemnly 
added,  "Thy  kingdom  is  come."  A  second 
hymn  was  followed  by  the  reading  of  the  Chris- 
tian Science  lesson  for  the  day,  which  the  audi- 
ence followed,  reading  verse  by  verse  aloud  al- 
ternately with  one  of  the  ladies  on  the  platform. 
The  passages  to  be  read  were  contained  in  the 
Christian    Science    Quarterly  Bible    Lessons,  a 

18 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

small  magazine  with  which  nearly  every  one  was 
provided. 

Christian  Science  sermons  are  altogether  differ- 
ent from  those  of  other  denominations.  Every 
church,  every  Sunday  in  the  year,  has  the  same 
sermon.  One  of  our  Readers,  standing  at  the 
desk,  read  passages  from  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments; the  other  Reader  supplemented  these 
passages  with  references  from  Science  and  Health. 
In  American  churches  the  Readers  are  usually  a 
man  and  a  woman,  and  it  is  claimed  that  this 
office  of  Church  Reader  is  the  revival  of  an  an- 
cient Christian  custom.  The  passages  from 
Science  and  Health  are  supposed  to  explain  and 
elucidate  the  texts  of  Scripture,  and  are  read  al- 
ternately without  comment.  Christian  Scientists 
claim  that  a  most  beautiful  and  instructive  dis- 
course is  thus  evolved,  and  that  congregations 
pay  much  closer  attention  to  the  reading  than 
they  ever  did  to  the  old-fashioned  sermon. 
Brevity  is  certainly  a  feature  of  Christian  Science 
worship,  for  the  entire  proceedings  at  Bryanston 
Street  were  over  in  three-quarters  of  an  hour. 
The  closing  song  was  an  adaptation  of  the  well- 
known  hymn,  ''Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the 
sun."  A  collection  was  made  before  this  hymn, 
and  a  very  curious  benediction  brought  the  serv- 

19 


Christian    Science 

ice  to  a  close.     It  consisted  of  a  statement  in  brief 
sentences  of  the  leading  principles  of  Christian 
Science,  and  especially  of  its  great  doctrine  that 
spirit    is  real,    and  matter  unreal.     Finally  the 
Reader  pronounced  the  apostolic  blessing,  ''Now 
unto  Him  that  is  able  to  keep  you  from  falling," 
and  the  congregation,    without  any  pause  for 
private  prayer,  at  once  began  to  disperse,  chat- 
ting   and    laughing  with    each    other    as    they 
trooped  down  the  staircase.     One  lady,  who  was 
apparently  a  regular  worshipper,  remarked  that 
the  numbers  were  very  much  smaller  than  usual, 
as  most  of  the  members  were  out  of  town.     Per- 
haps I  may  mention  here  that  in  many  of  the 
American  churches  experience  meetings  are  held 
on  Friday  evenings,  when  the  practical  healing 
and  reform  work  of  Christian  Science  is  pre- 
sented.    Those  who  have  derived  spiritual  bene- 
fit from  the  system,  as  well  as  those  who  have 
been  physically  healed,  are  invited  to  give  testi- 
mony.    I  understand  that  such  meetings  will  be 
organized  in  London  as  soon  as  the  work  has  at- 
tained a  wider  development. 

Nothing  surprised  me  more  in  the  Sunday  serv- 
ice than  the  unimportant  position  given  to  prayer 
by  Christian  Science.  I  asked  Mrs.  Dalziel  what 
was  the  explanation  of  this,  but  she  answered 

20 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

that  she  herself  was  only  a  learner,  and  that  Miss 
Vanderbruggen  would  tell  us  everything.  Think- 
ing over  the  service  during  the  afternoon,  I  de- 
cided that  caution  would  be  necessary  in  receiv- 
ing the  doctrines  of  Christian  Science.  They 
might  be  the  purest  essence  of  apostolic  Chris- 
tianity, but  if  so,  why  must  the  words  of  Scrip- 
ture be  supplemented  and  explained  by  a  human 
text-book,  and  why  especially  must  the  beautiful 
simplicity  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  be  destroyed  by 
the  curious  interpolations  I  had  heard  ? 

A   CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE   HEALER 

Miss  Vanderbruggen  arrived  about  four  o'clock, 
and  remained  half  an  hour.  She  speaks  with  a 
strong  American  accent.  Her  age  is  apparently 
about  fifty.  She  is  stout,  rosy,  placid-looking, 
and  a  very  fluent  talker.  Her  dress  was  of  black 
and  white  foulard,  made  with  innumerable 
flounces  and  frills,  but  the  most  striking  feature 
of  her  costume  was  the  enormous  black  straw 
hat,  which  not  only  shaded  her  face  with  its  wide 
brim  in  front,  but  drooped  at  the  back  so  as  to 
cover  the  whole  of  her  hair.  It  was  such  a  piece 
of  headgear  as  no  milliner  could  have  devised, 
and  would  have  been  more  appropriate  to  a 
mountaineering  expedition  under  blazing  skies 

21 


Christian    Science 

than  to  the  West  End  of  London.  An  ample  veil 
of  black  gauze  was  draped  about  it,  the  ends  of 
the  veil  floating  over  the  shoulders.  The  hat  and 
its  draperies  were  a  sufficient  proof  that  Miss 
Vanderbruggen  was  no  ordinary  woman.  I  had 
begged  Mrs.  Dalziel  not  to  give  the  slightest  hint 
that  1  was  in  need  of  aid  from  the  new  religion, 
for  I  wished  to  hear  as  much  as  possible  before 
committing  myself.  Miss  Vanderbruggen  was 
only  too  eager  to  be  questioned.  Christian  Science 
and  the  marvels  accomplished  by  it  was  the  only 
subject  of  conversation  which  really  interested 
her.  She  told  us  that  she  had  a  mission  to  spread 
information  concerning  the  doctrines  and  work 
of  the  new  denomination,  and  that  she  had  de- 
termined not  to  rest  until  Christian  Science  was 
as  well  known  in  London  as  any  of  the  sects. 

"Tell  me,"  said  Mrs.  Dalziel,  "  how  you  deal 
with  persons  who  ask  you  for  assistance  in  ill- 
ness." 

"  We  treat  them  as  a  loving  parent  would  treat 
a  child  who  is  overwhelmed  by  terror  because  of 
some  unreal  object  of  dread.  We  shov/  them 
that  God  is  love,  and  that  in  the  all-presence  of 
love  there  is  no  room  for  fear.  Against  fear 
Christian  Science  wages  ceaseless  war.  The  only 
way  to  dispel  fear  is  to  show  the  presence  of  love. 
22 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

Perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,  and  if  we  can  con- 
vince ourselves  and  those  who  are  suffering  that 
God  is  all-powerful,  and  that  power  is  supreme, 
then  we  shall  convince  them  of  the  unreality  of 
sin,  disease,  or  suffering." 

''What  do  Christian  Scientists  teach  about 
prayer  ?  " 

"We  understand  that  the  command  of  the 
Bible  to  'pray  without  ceasing'  is  best  fulfilled 
by  silent,  earnest  desire  in  the  depths  of  our 
spirits.  Our  great  leader,  Mrs.  Eddy,  teaches 
that  '  desire  loses  a  part  of  its  purest  spirituality 
if  the  lips  try  to  express  it'  She  holds  that 
while  prayer  can  neither  change  God,  nor  bring 
His  designs  into  mortal  modes,  it  can  and  does 
change  our  modes,  uplifting  us  to  Him.  'True 
prayer,'  she  says,  'is  not  asking  God  for  love;  it 
is  learning  to  love,  and  to  include  all  mankind  in 
one  affection.'" 

"Why  do  the  Christian  Scientists  separate 
themselves  from  the  other  Churches  ?  "  I  ventured 
to  inquire.  "  If  they  accept  the  Bible  as  their 
rule  of  faith,  is  there  any  need  to  form  a  separate 
organization  ?" 

Miss  Vanderbruggen,  who  up  to  that  moment 

had  directed  her  replies  to  Mrs.  Dalziel,  turned 

sharply  upon  me,  and  I  fanced  that  a  look  of 
23 


Christian   Science 

suspicious  inquiry  gleamed  for  an  instant  in  her 
inscrutable  grey  eyes.  Perhaps  she  was  quick 
enough  to  discover  that  I  was  only  a  broken- 
down,  overworked  little  schoolmistress,  not  a 
clever  controversial  antagonist,  for  the  sharp  look 
softened  as  she  replied: 

"That  question,  my  dear  child,  is  being  asked 
us  every  day  in  America.  I  might  give  you 
the  simple  and  truthful  answer  that  the  other 
Churches  refuse  to  have  anything  to  do  with  us. 
A  prejudice  exists  against  Christian  Science, 
partly,  no  doubt,  because  its  founder  is  a 
woman,  and  partly  because  we  claim  to  have 
revived  those  gifts  of  healing  which  were  in- 
herent in  the  Christian  Church  at  its  foundation. 
Remember,  too,  that  the  other  sects  are  hope- 
lessly divided  amongst  themselves,  and  that  not 
one  of  them  all  has  a  complete  and  full-orbed 
conception  of  truth.  But  the  main  reason  for 
our  separate  existence  is  that  we  have  a  distinct 
and  definite  principle  to  uphold.  Every  denomi- 
nation is  the  expression  of  a  belief.  If  the 
Baptists,  for  instance,  were  to  merge  themselves 
with  the  Congregationalists,  their  distinctive 
doctrine  of  believers'  baptism  might  perish  from 
the  world.  Christian  Science  as  a  religion  is  the 
only  one  that  claims  to  be  manifested  among 
24 


How  I  First  Heard  of  Christian  Science 

other  things  by  the  healing  of  the  sick.  An  im- 
mense gulf  must  separate  a  Church  which  can 
heal  the  sick  from  all  those  Churches  which  can- 
not. You  said  a  moment  ago  that  the  Bible  was 
our  rule  of  faith,  and  that  is  perfectly  true;  but  it 
is  not  our  only  rule.  We  accept  the  Bible  along 
with  our  founder's  great  manual  Science  and 
Health,  with  Key  to  the  Scriptures.  If  Mrs. 
Dalziel  and  you  would  come  to  my  Christian 
Science  class  at  the  Progressive  Women's  Club 
on  Tuesday  evening,  I  should  be  delighted  to  ex- 
plain all  your  difficulties.  You  will  meet  there 
ladies  who  have  been  mentally  and  physically 
cured  by  our  methods,  including  not  a  few  who 
have  suffered  for  years  from  chronic  nervousness 
as  the  result  of  overwork." 

We  promised  to  attend  the  class,  and  although 
I  still  felt  some  doubts  about  the  true  character  of 
Christian  Science,  I  slept  more  soundly  that  night 
than  I  had  done  for  months. 


25 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  STRANGE   CLAIMS   OF   CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE 

The  Progressive  Women's  Club  has  a  member- 
ship of  nearly  a  thousand,  and  Miss  Vander- 
bruggen  is  one  of  its  leading  spirits.  During  the 
early  summer  she  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on 
Christian  Science,  and  these  were  so  popular  and 
so  well  attended  that  she  decided  to  repeat  them 
in  August  and  September  for  the  benefit  of  coun- 
try members,  many  of  whom  have  come  up  to 
town  on  purpose  to  hear  them.  Mrs.  Dalziel 
was  going  out  to  dinner  on  Tuesday  evening,  so 
I  attended  the  lecture  alone.  The  large  drawing- 
room  of  the  club  was  already  crowded.  Room 
was  made  for  me  on  a  sofa  near  the  door.  Many 
of  the  ladies  were  in  evening  dress;  Miss  Van- 
derbruggen  herself  wore  a  gown  of  rich  black 
satin,  cut  low  and  fastened  with  a  diamond 
brooch.  Jewels  flashed  from  every  part  of  the 
room,  for  this  is  one  of  the  richest  women's 
clubs  in  London.  The  annual  subscription  is 
seven  guineas,  with  a  seven  guineas  entrance  fee, 
and  although  the  name  of  the  club  might  lead 
one  to  suppose  that  all  women  of   progressive 

sympathies  would  be  welcomed,  the  member- 
26 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

ship  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  drawn  almost  en- 
tirely from  the  moneyed  classes.  Mrs.  Dalziel 
tells  me  that  the  managing  committee  have  de- 
cided to  admit  no  new  members  unless  they  have 
been  presented  at  Court. 

Among  these  richly  dressed  and  wealthy 
women  there  were  many  sad,  disappointed,  wist- 
ful, and  suffering  faces.  They  reminded  me  ir- 
resistibly of  the  out-patients  gathered  in  the 
waiting-room  of  some  great  hospital.  I  did  not 
know  what  private  griefs,  what  maladies  of 
mind  or  body,  had  brought  them  to  seek  aid 
from  Christian  Science,  but  I  felt  that  Mrs.  Dal- 
ziel had  been  right  when  she  said  that  nearly 
every  one  in  our  age  needs  healing.  Women 
especially,  even  those  who  have  all  that  the 
world  can  give,  are  spending  their  substance  on 
many  physicians,  and  their  hearts  leap  up  at 
every  suggestion  of  a  new  and  more  effectual 
remedy.  I  forgot  myself  and  my  own  troubles 
for  the  moment  as  I  sat  among  these  sufferers, 
for  sufferers  I  felt  sure  they  were.  Had  they 
come  to  a  true  source  of  healing,  or  was  this  but 
another  of  the  sick  dreams  in  which  souls  toss 
continually  ?  Might  it,  indeed,  be  possible  that 
the  gift  of  healing  which  Christ  bequeathed  to 

His  Apostles  had  been  restored  in  these  latter 
27 


Christian    Science 

days  ?  How  wonderful  if  the  sick  might  again 
gather,  as  they  gathered  long  ago  in  the  days  of 
His  flesh,  and  feel  the  touch  of  a  restoring  hand! 
Then  the  words  would  be  true  once  more: 

"At  even,  ere  the  sun  was  set, 

The  sick,  O  Lord,  around  Thee  lay  ; 
Oh,  in  what  divers  pains  they  met, 
Oh,  with  what  joy  they  went  away  I  " 

Could  it  be  possible  that  we,  who  had  thought  the 
age  of  miracles  was  over,  should  have  our  faith 
revived  by  the  wonderful  manifestations  of  Chris- 
tian Science  ?  That,  and  nothing  less,  was  what 
Miss  Vanderbruggen  claimed  for  the  new  religion. 
*'It  is  a  remarkable  fact,"  she  told  us,  "that 
the  discovery  of  Christian  Science  is  directly  as- 
sociated with  a  miracle  of  healing.  Our  founder, 
Mrs.  Eddy,  was  suffering  in  1866  from  the  effects 
of  an  injury  caused  by  an  accident.  Neither 
medicine  nor  surgery  could  cure  her,  but  by  the 
discovery  of  Christian  Science  she  became  well 
herself  and  was  able  to  heal  others.  Her  object 
from  the  first  was  to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  her 
fellow-beings  by  a  sanitary  system  which,  as  she 
says,  *  should  include  all  moral  and  religious  re- 
form.' From  her  childhood  she  had  a  deep 
hunger  and  thirst  after  spiritual  things.  Her  life 
was  marked  by  much  happiness  and  by  many 
sorrows.     She  tells  us  that  she  was  led  into  the 

28 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

mazes  of  divine  metaphysics  through  the  gospel 
of  suffering,  the  providence  of  God,  and  the 
cross  of  Christ.  *No  one  else,'  to  quote  her  re- 
markable words,  *  can  drain  the  cup  which  I  have 
drunk  to  the  dregs,  as  the  discoverer  and  teacher 
of  Christian  Science,  neither  can  its  inspiration  be 
gained  without  tasting  this  cup.' 

**  There  is  one  most  important  advantage  con- 
nected with  Christian  Science,"  Miss  Vander- 
bruggen  went  on,  ''namely,  that  it  entirely  does 
away  with  the  need  for  doctors  and  medicines. 
We  Christian  Scientists  have  no  faith  in  drugs." 

As  the  lecturer  paused  at  the  end  of  this  sen- 
tence, a  young  lady  in  the  front  row  shut  up  her 
white  ostrich-feather  fan,  and  said,  gently: 

"  Pardon  me.  Miss  Vanderbruggen,  but  there  is 
one  point  I  do  not  quite  understand.  Do  Chris- 
tian Scientists  absolutely  forbid  their  patients  to 
take  medicine  or  to  consult  doctors  ?  " 

"We  do  not  forbid  them,  Mrs.  Elton,  for  there 
is  nothing  despotic  or  tyrannical  about  Christian 
Science,  but  we  try  to  convince  them  that,  in  a 
truly  scientific  conception  of  the  universe,  doc- 
tors and  medicines  have  no  rightful  place.  Mind 
existed  before  medicine;  mind  originated  medi- 
cine; mind,  not  medicine,  is  the  restoring  influ- 
ence.    Did  you  ever  think,  ladies,  why  it  was 

29 


Christian    Science 

that,  in  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  do  not  read  of  the  employment  of 
drugs  ?  If  Christ  had  meant  His  people  to  resort 
to  medicines,  would  He  not  have  employed  them 
Himself  ?  He  was  the  great  Christian  Scientist, 
and  depended  for  His  miracles,  not  on  materia 
medica,  but  on  the  power  of  God." 

Mrs.  Elton  asked  again:  ''Then  do  Mrs.  Eddy 
and  her  students  claim  to  heal  organic  diseases  }  " 

' '  Undoubtedly ;  there  are  innumerable  instances 
of  such  cures.  Organic  disease  as  well  as  func- 
tional disease  has  been  cured  with  no  other  means 
than  mind.  We  claim  that  in  America,  where 
the  discovery  was  first  made,  there  is  hardly  a 
village  in  which  there  are  not  men  and  women 
who  are  living  witnesses  of  the  power  of  Chris- 
tian Science  to  cure  disease." 

"  But  how  are  we  to  know  that  such  cures  have 
been  actually  effected.?"  another  lady  inquired. 

''There  is  scarcely  a  number  of  our  magazine 
which  does  not  contain  records  of  the  most  strik- 
ing and  extraordinary  cures,  duly  attested  by  the 
name  and  address  of  the  writer.  Why  should 
people  give  us  these  marvellous  testimonials  if 
the  cures  are  not  genuine  ?  Our  patients  have 
nothing  whatever  to  gain  by  telling  falsehoods 
about  the  benefits  they  have  received.     I  heard 

30 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

only  a  short  time  ago  of  a  lady  who  had  been  a 
chronic  sufferer  for  years,  and  was  confined  to 
her  bed  for  months  at  a  time.  She  tried  all  kinds 
of  doctors,  besides  electricity,  massage,  and  mag- 
netic treatment.  By  the  reading  of  our  books 
she  was  completely  cured.  One  of  our  healers 
tells  a  striking  story  of  how  she  was  called  in  to 
a  poor  girl  who  was  far  gone  in  consumption. 
The  case  seemed  hopeless,  but  after  a  week  of 
Christian  Science  treatment  there  was  a  slight 
improvement,  and  in  two  weeks  the  healer  was 
able  to  say  to  her  mother,  *  The  money  you  used 
to  spend  on  codliver  oil  will  buy  Science  and 
Health  in  a  few  weeks.'  To-day  that  girl  is  per- 
fectly restored  to  health,  not  half  well,  but  per- 
fectly recovered — no  cough,  happy  and  well." 

**I  should  like  to  call  your  attention  especially 
to  the  many  remarkable  and  well-authenticated 
eyesight  cures  effected  by  Christian  Science. 
Any  one  who  doubts  these  need  only  examine 
our  latest  books  and  magazines,  which  are  full  of 
the  most  striking  instances  of  improved  and  re- 
stored vision  amongst  our  patients." 

A  bright-looking  old  lady  in  spectacles,  who 
sat  on  the  sofa  beside  me,  interrupted  at  this 
point:  "You  would  not  advise  me  to  give  up 
these  spectacles,  which  have  been  specially  rec- 

31 


Christian    Science 

ommended  to  me  by  one  of  the  best  London 
oculists  ?  " 

"I  can  only  say,"  repHed  the  lecturer,  ''that 
many  Christian  Scientists,  who  were  accustomed 
formerly  to  depend  on  artificial  aids  to  sight, 
have  now  been  able  entirely  to  dispense  with 
them.  A  patient  writes  to  one  of  our  recent  pub- 
lications: 'One  day  the  thought  came,  Am  I 
leaving  all  for  Christ,  while  depending  on  pieces 
of  glass  for  sight  ?  Then,  realizing  that  God  is 
all,  and  sight  is  spiritual,  1  took  Science  and 
Health,  and  found  that  I  could  read  plainly  with- 
out glasses.  This  was  two  years  ago,  and  my 
sight  has  steadily  improved,  until  now  I  read  the 
finest  print.  Mine  was  no  slight  claim,  for  I  was 
told  at  the  Eye  Infirmary  that  they  did  not  see 
eyes  like  mine  one  time  in  a  thousand.'  Surely, 
if  one  sufferer  could  regain  perfect  sight  by  the 
help  of  Christian  Science,  we  have  all  a  right  to 
expect  the  same  blessing  will  be  granted  to  us. 

"There  is  no  'claim'  of  disease  or  suffering," 
our  lecturer  continued,  "with  which  Christian 
Science  cannot  fully  and  effectually  deal. 
Amongst  those  who  are  listening  to  me  this 
evening,  there  are,  I  know,  several  who  have  de- 
rived benefit  from  our  methods.  Will  you  not 
come  forward  for  the  sake  of  others  and  bear 

32 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

testimony  to  the  good  work  that  has  been 
wrought  within  you  ?  I  should  be  glad  also  to 
take  this  opportunity  of  explaining  further  diffi- 
culties to  inquirers." 

When  Miss  Vanderbriiggen  resumed  her  seat, 
there  was  silence  for  several  minutes.  We  could 
hear  the  rumbling  of  the  omnibuses  along  Park 
Lane^  and  the  murmur  of  the  August  evening 
reached  us  through  the  open  windows.  The 
club  is  in  one  of  those  quiet,  aristocratic  streets 
near  Hyde  Park  which  are  shut  up  from  the  end 
of  the  season  until  October;  our  house  was  the 
only  one  occupied  on  either  side  of  the  way.  In 
spite  of  the  noise  of  distant  traffic,  I  had  a  strange 
feeling  as  if  we  were  separated  from  all  the  rest 
of  London,  and  as  if  some  gift  of  peace  and 
healing  had  descended  upon  us.  If  Christian 
Science  were  true,  then  we  might  be  lifted  far 
above  the  mean  and  sordid  cares  of  the  world, 
above  fear,  above  suffering,  into  a  calmer  and 
more  spiritual  atmosphere.  These  hurrying 
crowds  knew  no  more  of  this  wonderful  revela- 
tion than  the  beggar  in  a  squalid  Eastern  town 
knows  of  the  gardens  behind  the  high  walls, 
with  their  roses  and  nightingales  and  fountains. 
The  beauty  is  close  beside  him  and  yet  forever 
out  of  reach.     Sometimes  during  a  hot  morning 

33 


Christian    Science 

in  the  schoolroom,  or  when  the  burning  sun 
poured  in  upon  our  lodgings  in  a  narrow  London 
street,  I  have  thought  how  many  cool,  sheltered, 
mysterious  gardens  are  hidden  in  the  heart  of 
London  itself,  the  gardens  of  great  houses^  where 
one  may  rest  as  in  the  seclusion  of  deep  woods 
and  hills.  Their  lakes  and  lawns  are  close  be- 
side us,  but  to  the  toiling  multitudes  they  are  as 
remote  and  as  inaccessible  as  the  lakes  and  lawns 
of  fairyland.  Is  it  so  with  the  greatest  dis- 
coveries of  the  spiritual  world  ?  Are  they  near 
and  yet  infinitely  remote,  shut  in  behind  those 
''high,  o'er  arching  mountains  of  necessity," 
those  peaks  which  the  boldest  cragsman  never 
scales  ?  Can  it  be  that  Christian  Science  is  a  real 
revelation,  hidden  through  past  ages,  as  other 
mysteries  have  been  hidden,  but  now  revealed  to 
believing  hearts  ?  I  could  not  tell,  but  I  felt  that 
there  was  something  quieting,  something  of  rest 
and  refreshment,  in  the  promises  of  the  new  re- 
ligion, and  I  determined  to  listen  and  hear  if 
among  the  testimonies  there  was  anything  ..that 
might  suit  my  especial  need. 

To  my  surprise,  out  of  the  five  ladies  who  bore 
testimony  to  their  healing,  no  fewer  than  four 
professed  to  have  been  cured  from  nervous  trou- 
bles.    This  of  itself  aroused  my  deepest  interest 

34 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

and  curiosity.  Whether  or  not  the  stories  told 
by  the  lecturer  were  true,  here  at  least  was  direct 
and  personal  evidence  from  cultured  and  intelli- 
gent women,  who  had  themselves  experienced 
benefit. 

The  first  speaker  was  Mrs.  Jansen,  a  young  and 
very  pretty  American  lady.  She  was  called  upon 
by  Miss  Vanderbruggen  to  address  the  meeting, 
and  a  whisper  went  round  the  room  that  Mrs. 
Jansen  was  one  of  the  most  successful  healers, 
and  that  she  was  visiting  England  on  a  special 
mission  from  the  mother  church  in  Boston.  In 
appearance,  voice,  and  manner  she  presented  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  jovial,  loud-voiced,  over- 
poweringly  high-spirited  Miss  Vanderbruggen. 
Her  clear  grey  eyes  had  a  calm  and  restful  ex- 
pression, as  if  a  happy  dream  lay  behind  them. 
From  the  first  sentence  I  was  fascinated  by  her 
personality  more  than  by  her  words.  Instinc- 
tively I  felt  that  this  woman  had  resources  of 
strength  and  power  and  kindness.  Her  flower- 
like beauty  was  the  expression  of  a  lovely  soul. 
I  could  not  have  told  my  troubles  to  Miss  Vander- 
bruggen, but  as  I  listened  to  Mrs.  Jansen  I  longed 
to  let  her  know  all  about  the  dull  pupils  and  the 
exacting  head  mistress  and  the  weary  burden  of 
depression  that    was    slowly  eating  away  my 

35 


Christian    Science 

strength.  If  ever  I  sought  for  healing  from 
Christian  Science,  Mrs.  Jansen  was  the  healer  I 
should  choose. 

"Our  lecturer  has  asked  me  to  give  my  testi- 
mony, dear  friends,"  she  began,  "but  I  have  no 
such  wonderful  tale  to  record  as  some  of  those 
you  have  listened  to.  1  have  not  been  cured  of 
any  physical  disease,  but  none  the  less  I  feel  that 
I  owe  everything  to  Christian  Science.  There  is 
a  mysterious  malady  of  the  nerves  and  of  the 
mind,  which  seems  to  steal  into  the  most  pros- 
perous homes  and  seize  upon  the  most  unlikely 
victims.  Family  love  does  not  shut  it  out; 
money  rather  helps  to  give  it  access,  for  when 
the  care  about  material  things  absorbs  the 
thoughts,  these  more  subtle  and  deadly  cares  do 
not  so  readily  find  entrance.  How  shall  I  de- 
scribe this  trouble  .J^  Doubtless  some  of  those 
who  are  listening  to  me  know  it  well.  It  is  a 
black  gloom  which  overspreads  the  whole  life,  a 
sense  of  fatigue,  sadness,  unutterable  heaviness, 
and  despair.  Work  and  amusement  lose  their 
pleasure;  we  have  no  inclination  for  books  or  for 
society;  appetite  fails,  and  sleep  departs  from  us. 
In  such  moods  I  have  sat  in  church  and  listened 
to  the  most  rousing  sermons,  and  have  joined  in 
the  most  moving  hymns,  yet  have  felt  myself  cut 

36 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

off  from  the  congregation  of  believers.  Doctors 
recommended  change  of  scene,  but  in  the  most 
beautiful  spots  of  America  and  Europe  I  felt  the 
old  terror  and  distress  return.  I  saw  that  my 
dear  husband  was  becoming  anxious  about  me, 
and  once  I  caught,  to  my  indescribable  horror,  a 
whisper  that  passed  to  him  from  one  of  his 
friends,  '  Has  there  been  any  mental  trouble  in 
her  family  ? '  Yet  I  knew,  and  my  husband 
knew,  that  I  was  perfectly  sane;  I  merely  felt  as 
if  some  dark  power  were  crushing  out  my  life. 
The  most  striking  feature  of  the  nervous  illness 
to  which  I  refer  was  apathy.  I  found  it  impos- 
sible to  take  a  real  interest  in  anything.  News- 
papers, books,  letters,  music,  all  the  little  inter- 
ests and  pleasures  of  my  former  life,  were  now 
a  weariness.  I  had  two  lovely  children,  but 
while  I  remained  in  this  state  I  could  not  bear 
them  near  me,  and  my  husband  was  forced  to 
send  them  away.  *  Why  do  you  not  rouse  your- 
self ? '  friends  said.  *  Rouse  yourself,  and  begin 
to  think  of  others ' — this  is  the  common,  stupid 
formula  which  the  nervous  patient  hears  from 
every  one.  How  thankfully  you  would  rouse 
yourself  if  it  were  only  possible.  I  can  recom- 
mend Christian  Science,  for  it  was  my  own  de- 
liverer from  this  dark  and  wretched  state.    When 

37 


Christian    Science 

I  was  cured  myself,  it  became  my  deepest  wish 
to  spread  the  knowledge  to  others,  and,  with  my 
husband's  full  consent,  I  became  a  student  under 
Mrs.  Eddy  in  the  Massachusetts  Metaphysical 
College,  the  great  nursery  of  Christian  Science 
healers.  I  shall  never  forget  the  solemnity  with 
which  our  founder  warned  me  that  unless  I  were 
filled  with  the  spirit  of  God's  love  I  could  never 
be  a  true  healer  and  teacher." 

WHAT   IT   COSTS  TO   BECOME  A  HEALER 

''The  course  of  training  at  the  college  was 
somewhat  expensive,"  Mrs.  Jansen  continued. 
"Three  hundred  dollars  was  the  price  for  each 
pupil,  and  Mrs.  Eddy  herself  admits  that  this  was 
*  a  startling  sum  for  tuition  lasting  barely  three 
weeks.'  We  students  who  have  since  been 
privileged  to  become  healers  consider,  however, 
that  three  hundred  dollars  was  a  small  sum  in- 
deed to  be  paid  for  the  impartation  of  this  divine 
knowledge.  There  were  always  a  number  of 
indigent  charity  scholars,  sometimes  as  many  as 
seventeen  in  one  class.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  as  I  myself  was  cured  of  a  nervous  malady 
by  Christian  Science,  so  I  seem  to  be  specially  set 
apart  for  the  cure  of  similar  maladies  in  others. 

During  my  brief  stay  in  London  I  should  be  glad 

38 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

to  see  any  patients  who  may  desire  to  consult 
me;  and  if  there  are  any  who  are  not  able  con- 
veniently to  pay  our  usual  fees,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
treat  them  gratuitously." 

Other  ladies  told  how  they  were  cured  from 
chronic  nervous  headaches,  from  prostration  fol- 
lowing illness,  and  from  sleeplessness  by  the  ap- 
plication of  Christian  Science;  but  Mrs.  Jansen's 
experience  was  so  closely  related,  so  wonder- 
fully parallel,  to  my  own,  that  1  felt  a  strong  and 
increasing  conviction  that  the  power  which  had 
cured  her  could  cure  me.  The  chief  difficulty 
was  whether  it  was  right  for  me,  as  a  member 
of  a  Christian  church,  to  be  seeking  help  from 
persons  whose  relation  to  Christianity  I  did  not 
clearly  understand.  Nothing  would  have  in- 
duced me  to  meddle  with  Theosophy  or  Spirit- 
ualism, because  I  felt  that  each  in  its  own  way 
was  the  enemy  of  Christ,  and  that  Spiritualism 
especially  had  a  deteriorating  influence  on  the 
moral  character.  But  these  new  healers  called 
themselves  Christians,  and  professed  to  be  fol- 
lowing in  Christ's  steps.  True,  they  held  no 
communion  with  the  orthodox  churches,  but  that 
evening  I  heard  nothing  that  seemed  to  me  of  a 
dangerous  or  unscriptural  tendency,  with  one 
single  exception.     As  the  meeting  was  about  to 

39 


Christian    Science 

close,  Mrs.  Elton^  the  young  lady  who  had  inter- 
rupted at  the  beginning,  asked  how  Christian 
Scientists  treat  the  class  of  persons  who  are 
known  to  the  churches  as  "anxious  inquirers." 
"In  other  words,"  she  said,  "I  wish  to  know 
what  is  the  teaching  of  Christian  Science  about 
sin." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Miss  Vanderbruggen.  "  We 
have  very  clear  and  definite  views  about  sin. 
'Christian  Science,'  in  the  words  of  our  founder, 
'heals  sin  as  it  heals  sickness:  by  establishing 
the  recognition  that  God  is  all,  and  there  is  none 
beside  Him — that  all  is  good,  and  there  is  in  re- 
ality no  evil,  neither  sickness  nor  sin.'  " 

"No  sin " — there  was  a  murmur  all  around  me 
as  of  joyful  acquiescence,  a  sigh  of  deep  thank- 
fulness, a  light  on  weary  faces.  "No  sin" — if 
the  words  had  floated  away  from  us  into  the 
summer  night,  would  they  not  fall  on  the  sad 
millions  of  London  like  cool  rain  on  flowers? 
Where  had  Christian  Science  learned  this  won- 
derful message  } 

"The  right  way  to  treat  sin,"  the  voice  went 
on,  "is  to  deal  with  the  sinner,  and  to  raise  him 
above  the  merely  corporeal  personality.  Divine 
pardon  is  that  divine  presence  which  is  the  sure 
destruction  of  sin.     In  discussing  this  subject  our 

40 


The  Strange  Claims  of  Christian  Science 

founder  says:  'Jesus  healed  disease  as  He  healed 
sin,  but  He  treated  them  both  not  as  in  or  of 
matter,  but  as  mortal  beliefs  to  be  exterminated. 
If  the  evils  called  sin,  sickness,  and  death  had 
been  forgiven  in  the  generally  accepted  sense, 
they  would  have  returned  to  be  again  forgiven; 
but  Jesus  said  to  disease^  "  Come  out  of  him, 
and  enter  no  more  into  him."  In  order  to  con- 
quer sin  we  need  only  attain  the  sense  that  good 
is  great  and  real,  and  that  its  opposite,  evil,  is 
small  and  unreal.'" 

Is  it  small  and  unreal  ?  That  was  the  question 
I  asked  myself  as  I  walked  homeward  under  the 
trees  of  Hyde  Park.  It  was  a  hot  night,  and 
crowds  of  working-people  had  come  out  to  en- 
joy the  darkness  and  the  scent  of  flowers.  There 
was  loud  talking  and  laughter.  At  another  time 
all  my  nervous  feelings  would  have  returned  as  I 
found  myself  alone  among  so  many  hundreds; 
but  to-night  I  noticed  the  people  no  more  than  the 
dead  leaves  which  came  softly  down  on  the 
path.  Christian  Science,  I  felt,  had  become  more 
interesting,  but  also  more  mysterious.  It  was 
not  content  to  throw  its  light,  like  one  of  those 
friendly  lamps,  on  the  path  of  our  common  life; 
it  reached  out  into  the  gulfs  of  darkness  and  the 

lonely  places  of  the  spirit,  and  the  light  it  cast 
41 


Christian    Science 

upon  them  was  surely  not  the  light  of  Scripture. 
1  remembered  some  searching  words  of  Professor 
Drummond  in  his  sermon  on  ''The  Three  Facts 
of  Sin  " :  **  We  have  all  thanked  God  for  the  dy- 
ing thief;  have  we  ever  thanked  God  for  redeem- 
ing our  life  from  destruction  ?  Destruction  is 
the  natural  destination  of  every  human  soul.  It 
is  as  natural  for  our  soul  to  go  downward  as  for 
a  stone  to  fall  to  the  ground.  Do  we  ever  thank 
God  for  redeeming  our  soul  from  that  ?  "  Is  evil 
"small  and  unreal  "  ?  Surely  the  whole  history 
of  redemption,  the  united  testimony  of  Christian 
men  and  women,  proves  that  sin  is  a  great  reality. 
And  yet,  although  I  disagreed  with  the  Chris- 
tian Scientists  on  this  point,  I  felt  that  no  theo- 
logical controversies  must  prevent  me  from 
making  an  effort  for  the  recovery  of  my  health. 
If  I  were  still  unfit  for  work  when  the  autumn 
term  began,  I  should  be  obliged  to  resign  my 
post  at  the  high-school,  and  the  money  I  had 
saved  would  not  last  me  more  than  a  year.  A 
week  went  on,  bringing  no  improvement.  Mrs. 
Dalziel's  doctor  saw  me,  and  advised  a  long  holi- 
day. His  tonics  seemed  to  strengthen  me  for  a 
day  or  two,  but  the  effect  soon  passed  off,  and 
at  last  in  despair  I  determined  to  write  to  Mrs. 

Jansen  and  put  myself  in  her  hands  for  healing. 
42 


CHAPTER  III 

IS  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  AN  IMPOSTURE? 

I  WAS  a  little  disappointed  with  the  letter  I  re- 
ceived from  Mrs.  Jansen  in  reply  to  mine.  At 
the  Progressive  Women's  Club  she  had  said  that 
if  there  were  any  who  could  not  conveniently 
pay  the  usual  fees,  she  would  be  glad  to  treat 
them  gratuitously.  Mrs.  Dalziel  had  kindly 
offered  to  pay  the  fees  for  my  treatment,  but  she 
thought  that  I  as  a  teacher  would  probably  be 
allowed  more  favorable  terms  than  ordinary  pa- 
tients.    Mrs,  Jansen's  letter  was  as  follows : 

"Hyde  Park  Mansions,  W., 
"August  i^th, 
''Dear  Madam, — You  do  not  say  whether  you 
wish  to  be  treated  by  correspondence  or  person- 
ally. In  either  case  it  might  have  been  best  to 
apply  to  Mrs.  Field-King,  who  is  the  chief  Chris- 
tian Science  practitioner  in  London.  As  I  under- 
stand, however,  that  Mrs.  Field-King  is  exceed- 
ingly busy  at  present,  I  am  willing  to  undertake 
your  case.  I  shall  probably  be  in  town  until 
October,  by  which  time  I  hope  you  will  be  en- 
tirely cured.  If  you  desire  correspondence  treat- 
ment, will  you  kindly  send  me  the  usual  prelimi- 
nary fee  of  one  guinea.  The  charge  in  addition 
will  be  one  guinea  per  week  so  long  as  the  treat- 
ment continues.  You  must  also  purchase  with- 
out delay  Science  and  Health,  with  Key  to  the 

43 


Christian    Science 

Scriptures,  the  price  of  which  is  fourteen  shillings 
nett.  For  personal  treatment  our  fee  is  eight 
shillings  for  the  first  visit  and  four  shillings  for 
each  subsequent  visit.  We  do  not  make  any 
reduction  from  these  terms  except  to  the  ex- 
tremely poor,  and  payment  is  invariably  made  at 
the  time  of  treatment.  The  running  up  of  bills 
for  healing  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christian 
Science. 

'*  There  are  two  points  on  which  I  insist  from 
the  beginning  with  all  my  patients:  (i)  every 
kind  of  medicine  must  be  at  once  left  off;  (2) 
patients  should  read  Christian  Science  literature 
only.  Give  up  the  newspapers  and  the  maga- 
zines, and  study  with  earnest  attention  the  parcel 
of  tracts  I  am  sending  you.  Remember  that 
with  Christian  Science  all  things  are  possible. 
Sin,  sickness,  and  disease  are  false  beliefs  of 
mortal  mind,  and  are  destroyed  through  the 
understanding  of  good. — Sincerely  yours, 

''  Hetty  Jansen. 

"P.  S. — I  am  much  interested  in  what  Miss 
Vanderbruggen  has  told  me  of  your  friend,  Mrs. 
Dalziel.  I  should  greatly  value  the  privilege  of 
making  Mrs.  Dalziel's  acquaintance." 

"There  is  no  reason  why  you  should  choose 

correspondence    treatment,"   said    Mrs.    Dalziel. 

"Write  and  ask  Mrs.  Jansen  to  make  an  early 

appointment  to  see  you  at  her  flat  in  Hyde  Park 

Mansions.     Enclose  the  fee  of  eight  shillings  for 

the  first  interview.     I  will  accompany  you,   as 

she  seems  so  anxious  to  meet  me." 

Mrs.  Jansen's  second  letter  fixed  our  interview 
44 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture  ? 

for  three  o'clock  on  Friday  afternoon.  This  letter 
said  less  about  money  and  more  about  the  spir- 
itual doctrines  of  Christian  Science.  ''Remem- 
ber that  sin^  sickness,  and  death  are  enemies,  and 
are  to  be  overcome  by  the  understanding  of 
truth.  Jesus  Christ  never  recommended  medi- 
cines to  any  sufferer.  If  you  take  medicine  you 
cannot  derive  benefit  from  Christian  Science. 
Away  with  doctors,  with  their  material  prescrip- 
tions and  their  poisonous  drugs!  Man's  birth- 
right is  health  and  happiness;  sickness  is  an 
illusion  of  mortal  mind." 

I  felt  rather  cheered  for  the  moment  by  this 
second  letter.  Mrs.  Jansen  seemed  so  confident 
of  her  power  to  cure  me.  But  I  was  feeling  far 
from  well  on  Friday  afternoon,  when  we  set  out 
for  Hyde  Park  Mansions.  My  nervous  symptoms 
were  at  their  worst,  and  my  depression  was  so 
intense  that  I  could  scarcely  reply  to  Mrs.  Dal- 
ziel's  kindly  questions.  I  could  see  that  she  was 
increasingly  anxious  about  my  health,  and  there 
was  a  faint  ray  of  comfort  in  the  thought  that 
she  was  determined  to  watch  over  my  treatment 
and  judge  for  herself  as  to  its  efficacy. 

A  manservant  opened  the  door  of  Mrs.  Jansen's 
flat,  which  was  large,  well  lighted,  and  luxuri- 
ously furnished.     Owing  to  a  mistake,  we  were 

45 


Christian    Science 

half  an  hour  too  early,  and  the  servant  said  that 
his  mistress  was  out,  but  would  be  back  by 
three.  He  asked  us  to  wait  in  the  drawing- 
room.  Another  visitor  was  already  waiting — a 
tall,  thin,  anxious-faced  woman,  in  a  fashionably 
made  black  silk  dress.  She  was  standing  at  one 
of  the  windows,  looking  down  on  the  Maryle- 
bone  Road,  but  when  we  entered  she  moved  to  a 
sofa  and  began  to  turn  over  the  pages  of  a  maga- 
zine. It  was  evident  that  she  was  in  a  restless 
and  troubled  state  of  mind,  for  she  took  up  book 
after  book  and  paper  after  paper  without  being 
able  to  fix  her  attention  for  more  than  a  minute 
on  any.  Several  times  she  glanced  furtively  at 
us,  as  if  wondering  whether  she  might  venture 
to  begin  a  conversation.  Mrs.  Dalziel  gave  her 
an  opportunity.  '*  We  are  rather  too  early,  I  am 
afraid,"  she  remarked.  ''Our  appointment  with 
Mrs.  Jansen  was  for  three." 

*M  have  no  appointment,"  said  the  stranger, 
grimly,  *'but  I  mean  to  see  her  all  the  same. 
These  Christian  Science  people  are  frauds  and 
humbugs,  and  I  am  determined  to  get  my  money 
back  from  them.  They  have  been  treating  me 
for  the  last  six  weeks,  and  I  am  not  a  bit  better, 
but  rather  worse." 

"One  must  persevere,"  said  Mrs.  Dalziel,  pleas- 
46 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture? 

antly,  but  the  patient  retorted,  "No.  I  have  had 
enough  of  it.  I  am  a  poor  woman,  and  1  have 
spent  seven  guineas  already  on  correspondence 
treatment.  Asthma  and  rheumatism  I  suffer 
from,   and    I    heard    of    these    Science    people 

through  Lady  G ,  one  of  my  customers.     I 

am  a  Court  dressmaker  in  V Street,  Gros- 

venor  Square.  You  may  know  my  signboard — 
Madame  Merimee.     My  real  name  is  Digby.   Lady 

G was  sure  the  Christian  Scientists  would 

heal  me,  and  she  persuaded  me,  as  I  had  not 
time  for  personal  treatment,  to  enter  into  cor- 
respondence with  this  Mrs.  Jansen,  who  twice 
accompanied  her  to  my  show-room.  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  I  did  not  like  Mrs.  Jansen's  man- 
ner. She  was  a  deal  too  haughty  and  stand- 
offish for  a  lady  doctor  who  was  charging  good 
money  for    her   cures.     'I  will   treat  Madame 

Merimee — as  a  favor  to  you.  Lady  G ,'  she 

said,  and  she  has  always  spoken  as  if  her  other 
patients  were  in  a  very  different  walk  of  life  from 
myself.  Christian  Science  is  for  the  rich;  they 
don't  want  the  poor,  nor  even  the  middle  classes. 
It's  my  opinion,  madame,  that  the  only  class  of 
people  they  do  cure  are  the  rich,  idle  women 
who  fancy  they  have  all  manner  of  diseases,  when 
really  there  is  nothing  the  matter  with  them. 

47 


Christian    Science 

Such  women  are  sure  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
some  quack  or  other,  and  Christian  Science  is 
one  of  the  many  forms  of  quackery." 

"  But  Lady  G ,  you  say,  still  believes  in  the 

Christian  Scientists." 

"Her  ladyship  believed  in  them  until  about  a 
fortnight  ago,  when  her  lovely  little  girl.  Miss 
Violet,  took  an  illness  which  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  scarlet  fever.     Lord  G was  away 

from  home,  and  her  ladyship  not  being  sure 
what  the  trouble  was,  sent  for  one  of  the  Chris- 
tian Science  healers.  This  woman  treated  the 
child  according  to  their  peculiar  methods,  with 
the  result  that  she  grew  steadily  worse.  On  the 
second  day  her  ladyship  was  so  frightened,  as  the 
little  girl's  throat  was  in  such  a  terrible  condition, 
that  she  sent  for  the  family  doctor.  He  drove 
the  healer  out  of  the  house,  and  gave  her  lady- 
ship such  a  talking  to,  her  maid  tells  me,  as  she 
will  never  forget.  He  said  that  if  another  day 
had  been  lost  the  child  might  have  died." 

"Did  he  warn  Lady  G about  employing 

Christian  Scientists  for  the  future  ?  " 

"He  called  them  a  set  of  pestilent  rogues  and 
quacks,  and  mentioned  the  case  of  an  old  lady,  a 
former  patient  of  his,  who  fell  under  their  in- 
fluence, and  who  was  literally  killed  through 
48 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture? 

being  made  to  give  up  her  usual  medicines. 
She  paid  check  after  check  to  the  Scientists 
during  the  year  she  was  under  their  treatment, 
and  when  at  last  her  relatives  insisted  on  calling 
in  her  old  doctor,  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  save 
her." 

"  Do  Christian  Scientists  try  to  get  their  patients 
into  their  power,  and  for  that  purpose  seek  to 
separate  them  from  their  relatives  ?  " 

*'  That  is  one  of  their  worst  and  most  danger- 
ous practices,  madame.  If  you  once  put  your- 
self into  the  hands  of  a  healer,  you  must  give  up 
your  own  doctor,  no  matter  what  your  friends 
may  say.  I  have  heard  that  in  the  United  States 
some  of  the  healers  have  been  put  on  their  trial 
in  consequence  of  the  death  of  patients,  but  no 
conviction  has  been  obtained  because  the  juries 
are  so  taken  in  by  the  sweetness  and  piety  of  the 
language  they  employ.  It  is  true,  no  doubt,  that 
they  mean  no  harm  to  their  patients,  but  it  seems 
a  pity  that  there  is  not  a  law  to  prevent  unquali- 
fied people  from  practicing  on  the  health  and 

minds  of  others.     Lord  and  Lady  G had  a 

fearful  quarrel  when  his  lordship  came  home  and 
discovered  how  nearly  he  had  lost  his  little 
daughter.    The   servants  were   all  against  the 

healer,  and  the  lady's-maid  tells  me  the  head- 
49 


Christian    Science 

nurse  sent  a  telegram  on  her  own  responsibility 
to  his  lordship  begging  him  to  come  home  at 
once.  I  doubt  if  he  will  ever  quite  forgive  his 
wife  about  Miss  Violet's  illness;  he  says  that  if 
the  child  had  died  he  would  have  prosecuted  the 
healer  for  manslaughter.  He  has  now  gone  off 
by  himself  on  a  yachting  tour.  Surely,  madame, 
if  Christian  Science  causes  quarrels  between  hus- 
bands and  wives,  that  is  clear  enough  evidence 
of  its  mischievous  character." 

**But  what  about  the  wonderful  cures?"  I 
inquired.  * '  The  Christian  Science  Journal  is  full 
of  remarkable  and  apparently  well-authenticated 
testimonies." 

*' Yes,  mademoiselle,  but  have  you  noticed  any 
instance  in  which  the  patient  gives  a  London 
name  and  address  ?  So  far  as  I  have  observed, 
the  letters  quoted  come  almost  invariably  from 
the  United  States  or  Canada,  often  from  remote 
western  or  southern  states  like  Texas,  Utah,  or 
Florida.  At  the  Sunday  services  I  have  never 
heard  any  but  the  vaguest  references  to  healing. 
What  really  roused  my  suspicions,  even  before 

the  illness  at  Lady  G 's,  was  the  fact  that 

none  of  the  Christian  Science  people  would  give 
me  any  definite  particulars  of  cures.  They  would 
not  point  me  to  one  case  in  which  another  suf- 

50 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture  ? 

ferer  from  asthma  or  rheumatism  had  been  cured 
by  their  methods.  I  wonder  I  was  fool  enough 
to  waste  my  money  on  them,  but  the  truth  is,  I 
did  not  wish  to  offend  so  good  a  customer  as 
Lady  G ." 

"Do  you  think  there  is  the  sHghtest  chance 
that  Mrs.  Jansen  will  refund  your  seven  guineas  ?" 

Before  Madame  Merimee  could  answer  there 
was  the  sound  of  a  latch-key  at  the  door,  and 
immediately  afterward  we  heard  Mrs.  Jansen 
talking  in  a  low  voice  with  her  servant.  I  was 
glad  she  had  returned,  for  the  conversation  had 
helped  still  further  to  depress  my  spirits,  and  I 
was  determined  not  to  lose  faith  in  Christian 
Science  on  the  word  of  a  mere  stranger.  Pres- 
ently the  servant  appeared  and  asked  Madame 
Merimee  to  come  to  the  consulting-room.  "It 
is  a  quarter  past  three,"  he  said,  turning  to  us. 
"Mrs.  Jansen  was  unavoidably  delayed  at  the 
house  of  a  patient;  she  will  be  with  you  in  five 
minutes." 

Whether  or  not  the  seven  guineas  were  re- 
funded we  had  no  opportunity  of  learning,  but 
Mrs.  Dalziel  says  she  is  sure  the  dressmaker  found 
some  means  of  frightening  Mrs.  Jansen,  for  in  a 
very  few  minutes  we  heard  her  leaving  the  flat, 
and  immediately  afterward  Mrs.  Jansen  joined  us. 

51 


Christian    Science 

On  this  occasion  I  was  a  little  disappointed  with 
her  appearance.  Instead  of  the  calm  and  happy 
expression  I  had  noticed  in  her  face  at  the  meet- 
ing, she  now  wore  a  disturbed  and  worried  look. 
There  was  a  flush  on  her  cheek,  and  her  eyes 
sparkled  with  an  angry  light. 

"I  am  greatly  distressed,"  she  said  to  Mrs. 
Dalziel,  ''that  my  servant  should  have  allowed 
that  person  to  wait  in  the  same  room  with  you. 
I  suppose  she  has  given  her  views  pretty  freely 
on  the  subject  of  Christian  Science.  The  ingrati- 
tude shown  by  the  more  common  class  of  our 
patients  fully  justifies  our  founder,  Mrs.  Eddy,  in 
making  our  charges  reasonably  high.  Among 
the  poorer  classes  there  are  some  refined  natures 
who  can  appreciate  the  true  meaning  of  science 
and  health,  but  the  greater  number  have  coarse 
animal  dispositions,  which  are  far  too  near  the 
clay  for  our  teaching  to  make  any  impression 
upon  them.  Such  a  woman  as  Madame  Merimee 
is  totally  without  spiritual  discernment.  Even 
among  the  would-be  healers  who  come  to  us  for 
instruction  there  are  many  who  are  utterly  inca- 
pable of  understanding  Christian  Science,  and  it 
is  for  that  reason,  and  not  from  any  greed  of 
gain,  that  we  have  been  forced  to  charge  as 

much  as  twenty  guineas  for  a  course  of  lessons. 
52 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture? 

I  trust,  dear  Mrs.  Dalziel,  that  nothing  you  may 
have  heard  from  that  vulgar  and  ignorant  dress- 
maker will  remain  in  your  mind  to  my  preju- 
dice." 

"Certainly  not,"  Mrs.  Dalziel  answered, 
promptly.  "As  a  proof  of  the  contrary,  I  pro- 
pose to  entrust  you  with  the  care  of  my  friend. 
Miss  Anne  Harwood,  who  is  suffering  rather 
severely  from  nervous  prostration  induced  by 
overwork.  Miss  Harwood  is  a  high-school  mis- 
tress, and  is  looking  forward  with  much  anxiety 
to  the  new  term,  as  she  is  quite  unequal  to  its 
duties." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  gathered  from  Miss  Harwood's 
letter  that  she  is  one  of  the  workers,"  Mrs.  Jansen 
replied,  and  I  fancied  that  her  eyes  wandered 
with  some  disappointment  from  Mrs.  Dalziel's 
expensive  toilette  to  my  humble  blue  serge  gown 
and  sailor  hat.  "  I  had  hoped  it  might  have  been 
my  privilege  to  initiate  the  friend  of  my  dear 
Miss  Vanderbriiggen  into  some  of  the  mysteries 
of  Christian  Science.  But,  of  course,  I  shall  be 
delighted  to  undertake  to  cure  Miss  Harwood.  I 
am  always  so  very  sympathetic  with  women 
who  earn  their  own  living.  Teaching  is  a  most 
trying  profession,  and  the  wonder  to  me  is  that 
women-teachers  do  not  invariably  break  down 

53 


Christian    Science 

before  thirty.  Some  of  the  saddest  cases  I  have 
known  in  my  career  as  a  Christian  Science  healer 
have  been  formerly  successful  teachers.  I  always 
warn  any  young  girls  of  my  acquaintance  who 
are  unfortunately  obliged  to  earn  money  to  choose 
any  profession  rather  than  teaching." 

Mrs.  Dalziel  looked  displeased. 

*'  But  this  is  not  very  encouraging  to  Miss  Har- 
wood,  who  after  all  has  embarked  on  this  par- 
ticular line  of  work,  and  must  seek  for  health  in 
her  work  rather  than  for  escape  out  of  it.  Per- 
haps," my  friend  added,  coldly,  "  Christian  Scien- 
tists confine  their  efforts  to  the  rich  and  leisured 
classes,  who  can  pay  them  large  fees." 

It  was  now  Mrs.  Jansen's  turn  to  look  annoyed. 
*' We  make  no  distinction  between  our  patients," 
she  replied,  ''although  I  must  personally  admit 
that  I  have  been  most  successful  amongst  women 
of  leisure.  The  reason,  no  doubt,  is  that  the 
truths  of  Christian  Science  must  be  learned  in 
quiet  and  retirement,  and  by  long  and  profound 
meditation;  the  hurried  and  agitated  brain  can- 
not receive  them.  If  the  care  for  money  preoc- 
cupies the  heart,  the  seed  falls  on  stony  ground, 
and  can  bring  forth  no  fruit.  But  you  need  not 
fear  for  Miss  Harwood's  case.  I  can  see  that  hers 
is  a  mind  well  adapted  to  receive  our  teaching, 

64 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture  *? 

and  I  believe  that  in  a  very  few  weeks  she  will 
be  perfectly  well.  I  should  like  you,  in  the  first 
place,  Miss  Harwood,  to  purchase  Science  and 
Health,  and  to  read  it  carefully  before  you  visit 
me  again.  It  frequently  happens  that  a  patient  is 
cured  by  studying  this  text-book,  without  any 
further  treatment.  The  price,  as  I  think  I  men- 
tioned before,  is  fourteen  shillings,  but  if  you 
desire  a  prettily  bound  copy,  which  has  some- 
thing of  the  appearance  of  a  prayer-book,  the 
cost  would  be  a  guinea.  There  is  a  neat  edition 
for  sale  at  seventeen  shillings  and  sixpence." 

*'It  seems  a  good  deal  of  money,"  said  Mrs. 
Dalziel,  *'  especially  as  the  cost  of  treatment  must 
be  added.  May  I  inquire  if  Christian  Science  is  a 
money-making  profession  like  ordinary  medi- 
cine, and  if  the  '  healers  '  expect  to  live  by  it  ? " 

Mrs.  Dalziel  had  several  times  told  me  that  the 
expense  of  my  cure  need  cause  me  not  the  slight- 
est anxiety,  as  she  was  determined  to  pay  all 
charges.  She  is  one  of  the  kindest  and  most 
generous  of  women,  so  I  knew  it  was  without 
one  thought  of  meanness  that  she  was  making 
these  careful  inquiries.  The  truth  was,  as  I  sus- 
pected, that  she  had  been  much  impressed  by  the 
charges  brought  against  the  Christian  Scientists 
by  Madame  Merimee,  and  was  anxious  that  my 

55 


Christian    Science 

brief  holiday  should  not  be  wasted  in  dancing 
attendance  on  quacks. 

"My  dear  Mrs.  Dalziel,  we  are  really  not  ac- 
customed to  be  so  bluntly  questioned.  Our  fees 
are  low  when  compared  with  those  of  doctors. 
What  physician  of  any  reputation  would  see  a 
patient  for  eight  shillings  on  the  first  visit  and 
four  shillings  afterward  ?  If  it  were  not  that  our 
purpose  is  philanthropic,  and  our  mission  to  re- 
lieve the  disease  and  suffering  of  the  world,  we 
could  not  possibly  charge  less  than  a  guinea  for 
each  visit.  Remember  that  the  laborer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire.  The  Apostles  were  distinctly  bidden 
to  take  what  the  hospitable  kindness  of  their 
patients  pressed  upon  them.  Not  only  so,  but 
from  the  fact  that  Judas  carried  the  bag  we  are 
led  to  infer  that  a  regular  charge  was  made  from 
those  who  had  benefited  by  miracles." 

This  application  of  Scripture  seemed  to  me  so 
blasphemous  that  1  was  tempted  to  cut  short  the 
interview  and  to  relinquish  my  hopes  of  healing, 
but  the  question  of  money  was  put  out  of  my 
mind  by  Mrs.  Dalziel's  next  remark. 

"Can  it  be  true,  as  the  lady  we  met  here  as- 
serted, that  Christian  Science  healers  have  been 
put  on  their  trial  in  America  in  consequence  of  the 
death  of  patients  for  whom  they  had  prescribed  ?  " 

66 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture  *? 

"  I  cannot  deny  that,  owing  to  the  ignorance 
and  prejudice  of  the  public,  and  especially  of 
local  medical  men,  such  trials  have  occurred,  but 
the  '  healers '  were  triumphantly  acquitted.  Take 
the  very  remarkable  case  of  the  Rev.  Ezra  M. 
Buswell,  who  was  tried  at  the  district  court  of 
Beatrice,  Nebraska,  on  the  charge  of  practicing 
medicine  without  a  license.  Gossip  was  preva- 
lent in  the  town  that  in  several  cases  death  had 
occurred  as  the  result  of  Christian  Science  treat- 
ment, and  intense  indignation  was  felt  among  the 
\ower  classes.  At  the  trial  witnesses  came  for- 
ward to  prove  that  many  cases  had  been  healed 
by  Mr.  Buswell,  and  that  he  did  not  claim  the 
healing  power  to  be  his  own,  but  relied  upon  a 
higher  power." 

**0f  what  diseases  had  these  sufferers  been 
cured?" 

*'One  man  testified  that  he  had  been  bitten  by 
a  rattlesnake  over  a  year  before  that  time.  Mr. 
Buswell  treated  him  once  a  day  for  about  a  week. 
When  asked  if  he  had  fully  recovered,  he  re- 
plied, *I  got  well,  or  I  should  not  be  here.'  Mr. 
Buswell  was  severely  examined,  but  nothing 
could  be  proved  against  him.  He  was  asked  to 
state  how  many  persons  he  had  treated  within 
the  last  eighteen  months,  and  replied  that  he  had 

57 


Christian    Science 

treated  over  a  hundred,  of  whom  he  could  only 
think  of  two  that  had  died,  and  these  were 
young  children.  The  jury  considered  their  ver- 
dict for  nearly  six  hours,  and  ultimately  acquitted 
Mr.  Buswell.  Mrs.  Eddy  wrote  him  a  touching 
letter  of  congratulation." 

The  sweet  expression  which  had  charmed  me 
first  had  come  back  to  Mrs.  Jansen's  face.  **  Let 
us  put  aside  vain  questionings,  dear  friends,"  she 
resumed.  "You,  dear  Miss  Harwood,  become 
from  to-day  my  friend  and  patient.  I  will  not 
commence  treatment  until  you  tell  me  you  have 
mastered,  or,  at  any  rate,  endeavored  to  master, 
the  text-book  I  will  now  seek  out  for  you.  Let 
your  thoughts  dwell  on  life,  not  death;  on  health, 
not  sickness;  on  joyful  and  happy  things  rather 
than  on  those  which  make  for  sorrow.  God  is 
your  mind,  and  mind  is  all.  You  do  not  under- 
stand this  now;  it  may  be  that  the  book  will 
puzzle  you.  In  that  case,  come  back  to  me  this 
day  week  at  the  same  hour,  and  I  will  begin  a 
course  of  treatment.  Until  we  meet  again  keep 
constantly  before  your  thoughts  that  health  and 
happiness  are  real,  and  that  the  opposite  is  un- 
real. Jesus  said  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
within  us.  We  may  enjoy  it  now,  not  in  some 
far-off  future." 

58 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture  *? 

"May  I  ask  if  Cliristian  Scientists  believe  in 
the  Second  Advent?"  Mrs.  Dalziel  asked. 

•'The  second  appearing  of  Jesus,  according  to 
the  teaching  of  our  churches,  is  unquestionably 
'the  spiritual  advent  of  the  advancing  idea  of 
God  as  in  Christian  Science.'  ^  '  We  do  not  ques- 
tion,' says  Mrs.  Eddy,  'the  authenticity  of  the 
Scriptural  narrative  of  the  Virgin  Mother  and 
Bethlehem  Babe,  and  the  Messianic  mission  of 
Christ  Jesus;  but  in  our  time  no  Christian  Scien- 
tist will  give  chimerical  wings  to  his  imagination, 
or  advance  speculative  theories  as  to  the  recur- 
rence of  such  events.  No  person  can  take  the 
individual  place  of  the  Virgin  Mary;  no  person 
can  compass  or  fulfill  the  individual  mission  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth;  no  person  can  take  the  place 
of  the  author  of  Science  and  Health,  the  discov- 
erer and  founder  of  Christian  Science.  Each  in- 
dividual must  fill  his  own  niche  in  time  and  eter- 
nity.'" 

"But  what  terrible,  what  awful  blasphemy!" 
Mrs.  Dalziel  exclaimed.  "Surely  Mrs.  Eddy  is 
not  so  wicked  as  to  name  herself  in  the  same 
breath  with  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  }  " 

"Mrs.  Eddy  is  the  most  perfectly  humble  and 
saintly  of  women,"  Mrs.  Jansen  retorted,  her  blue 

'  See  Retrospection  and  Introspection,  p.  86. 

59 


Christian    Science 

eyes  again  flashing  out  with  resentment.  ''Pa- 
tients and  their  friends  cause  great  distress  to  the 
healers  by  their  uncharitable  assumptions  con- 
cerning our  founder.  Mrs.  Eddy  is  a  true  spirit- 
ual mother.  As  an  eminent  Christian  Scientist 
said  in  one  of  our  recent  publications,  '  through 
half  a  century  of  selfless  toil  she  has  cradled  in 
her  thought  and  nursed  to  the  health  and  strength 
of  its  promising  young  manhood  this  Church  of 
the  living  God,  founded  on  the  everlasting  rock 
of  Christ.'  In  a  letter  written  in  1895,  Mrs.  Eddy 
distinctly  denied  that  she  had  ever  claimed  to  be 
a  second  Christ.  '  Even  the  question  shocks  me. 
What  1  am  it  is  for  God  to  declare  in  His  infinite 
mercy.  As  it  is,  I  claim  nothing  more  than  what 
I  am:  the  discoverer  and  founder  of  Christian 
Science  and  the  blessing  it  has  been  to  mankind 
which  eternity  unfolds.' " 

In  taking  leave  of  us,  Mrs.  Jansen  suggested 
that  it  might  be  well  if  1  came  alone  for  treatment. 
"We  do  not  encourage  the  friends  of  patients 
to  accompany  them.  We  welcome  inquiry  and 
cross-examination  in  the  preliminary  stage,  but 
when  once  treatment  has  commenced  the  patient's 
mind  must  be  calm,  trustful,  and  undisturbed. 
Even  the  kindest  friend,  if  herself  disposed  to  be 
sceptical,  may  exert  a  malign  influence." 

60 


Is  Christian  Science  an  Imposture"? 

"Very  well,  Anne,  go  without  me,  by  all 
means,"  Mrs.  Dalziel  said,  as  we  turned  into  the 
Edgware  Road.  "  Mrs.  Jansen  is  not  so  anxious 
to  cultivate  my  friendship  as  she  was  two  hours 
ago,  and,  for  my  part,  although  I  do  not  wish  to 
prejudice  you,  I  strongly  suspect  that  Christian 
Science  is  an  utter  imposture." 

During  the  next  few  days  I  carefully  studied 
Science  and  Health,  but  I  found  my  health  no 
better,  and  so  was  forced  to  fall  back  on  the  per- 
sonal treatment.  The  book  seemed  to  me  in 
many  parts  a  wild  farrago  of  nonsense.  There 
were  many  sentences  which  I  could  not  possibly 
understand,  and  I  am  not  surprised  that  Christian 
Scientists  have  been  accused  of  having  a  vocabu- 
lary and  a  language  of  their  own. 

I  had  read  a  good  many  theological  books,  but 
the  peculiar  phraseology  of  Science  and  Health 
completely  baffled  me.  The  effort  to  understand 
it  merely  increased  my  nervousness,  and  at  last 
Mrs.  Dalziel  insisted  that  I  should  read  no  more. 
On  the  following  Friday  I  went  alone  to  Hyde 
Park  Mansions,  and  entered  on  my  course  of 
treatment. 


61 


CHAPTER  IV 

A   FANCIED   CURE   AND   A    RELAPSE 

Having  taken  my  case  in  hand,  Mrs.  Jansen 
exerted  herself  to  the  utmost  to  effect  a  cure. 
Her  first  anxiety  was  to  dispel  any  prejudice  that 
might  have  been  left  in  my  mind  from  the  former 
visit,  and  especially  from  her  slighting  remarks 
about  teachers  and  women-workers  generally. 

''The  truth  is,"  she  said,  "that  I  must  always 
overcome  a  certain  reluctance  in  undertaking  the 
cure  of  each  new  patient.  Ours  is  a  deeply  re- 
sponsible profession,  and  there  is  always  the 
possibility  of  failure." 

'*  As  a  mere  matter  of  form,"  Mrs.  Jansen  con- 
tinued, ''there  are  two  questions  I  must  put  to 
you.  If  a  satisfactory  answer  could  not  be  given 
it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  heal  you.  In 
the  first  place,  are  you  at  the  present  moment 
under  the  care  of  any  regular  physician  ?  In  the 
second,  have  you  applied  for  aid  to  any  other 
Christian  Science  healer.?" 

I  could  truthfully  answer  both  questions  in  the 
negative,  and  Mrs.  Jansen  told  me  it  was  the  rule 
among  Christian  Scientists  to  observe  a  profes- 

62 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

sional  etiquette,  and  not  to  take  patients  from 
other  practitioners. 

"In  America,"  she  said,  ''there  are  patients 
enough  for  all  of  us.  Mrs.  Eddy  recommended 
her  students  to  settle  in  large  cities,  in  order  that 
they  might  do  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number.  She  considered  that  the  population  of 
our  principal  towns  was  ample  to  supply  many 
practitioners,  preachers,  and  teachers  with  work. 
Mrs.  Eddy  has  a  keen  sense  of  the  more  practical 
side  of  life,  and  a  shrewd  business  instinct.  For 
that  reason  some  have  even  accused  her  of 
worldliness." 

I  was  getting  impatient  with  this  preliminary 
conversation,  and  wished  Mrs.  Jansen  would 
come  to  my  own  particular  treatment. 

''You  are  puzzled  by  these  preluding  remarks," 
she  said,  smiling  softly,  as  if  she  had  read  my 
thoughts.  "They  are  like  the  casual  remarks  of 
the  doctor  when  he  comes  to  pay  his  morning 
call.  He  chats  about  the  weather  and  the  news 
of  the  morning's  papers,  but  all  the  while  he  is 
making  his  observations,  and  his  purpose  is  to 
bring  you  into  the  quiet  and  unexcited  frame  of 
mind  that  will  enable  him  to  treat  you  most  ef- 
fectually. I  will  now  proceed  a  little  further,  and 
will  read  to  you  some  of  the  fundamental  prin- 

63 


Christian    Science 

ciples  of  Christian  Science.  Dismiss  all  other 
thoughts,  and  let  the  words  I  read  penetrate 
deeply  into  your  mind." 

Mrs.  Jansen  then  took  up  a  volume,  and  in  a 
slow,  monotonous,  almost  crooning  voice  began 
to  read. 

The  reading  had  a  soothing  effect  upon  me, 
and  when  she  saw  that  I  was  in  a  quieter  and 
more  receptive  frame  of  mind,  she  made  me  sit 
in  a  great  armchair  heaped  with  cushions,  and 
placing  herself  opposite  me  on  the  sofa,  com- 
menced the  treatment.  Her  eyes  seemed  to 
grow  deeper  and  more  lustrous  as  I  watched  her, 
and  her  face  wore  an  expression  which  oddly 
recalled  to  my  memory  some  lines  from  the 
"Piper  of  Hamelin": 

"Smiling  first  a  little  smile, 
As  if  he  knew  what  magic  slept 
In  his  quiet  pipe  the  while." 

For  a  moment  I  half  fancied  she  would  hypno- 
tize me.  The  readers  of  these  articles  will  be 
astonished  when  I  describe  the  extreme  sim- 
plicity of  the  method.  It  consists  exclusively  of 
thinking  by  the  healer,  supplemented  by  readings 
from  Science  and  Health  and  occasional  conversa- 
tion. The  healer  sits  in  the  room  with  the  patient 
and  thinks,  bringing  her  whole  mind  to  bear  on 

64 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

the  case.  From  time  to  time,  when  the  stillness 
tends  to  become  oppressive,  a  few  passages  from 
Mrs.  Eddy's  writings  are  read  aloud  with  slow 
and  earnest  utterance,  and  two  or  three  times  in 
the  course  of  the  hour  the  patient  is  encouraged 
to  talk.  If  the  treatment  is  by  correspondence, 
the  healer  sits  in  her  own  room  and  thinks,  and 
from  time  to  time  she  sends  instructions  by  letter 
to  the  patient,  the  **  instructions"  being  usually 
extracts  from  Mrs.  Eddy's  writings.  There  is  no 
other  treatment,  no  contact  with  matter,  but 
solely  mind  influencing  mind. 

I  asked  if  Christian  Science  was  not  much  the 
same  as  faith-heahng.  ''Not  in  the  least,"  said 
Mrs.  Jansen.  ''The  so-called  faith-cures  remove 
bodily  ailments  for  a  time,  or  else  they  change 
these  ills  into  new  and  more  difficult  forms  of 
disease,  until  at  length  the  science  of  mind  comes 
to  the  rescue  and  works  a  radical  cure,  and  then 
we  understand  the  mystery.  Faith-healing  rests 
on  no  scientific  principle,  and  so  can  effect  no 
lasting  cure." 

What  was  the  effect  of  Mrs.  Jansen's  method  ? 
I  received  the  same  treatment  for  one  hour  at  a 
time  daily,  and  as  mine  was  supposed  to  be  a 
difficult  case,  the  cure  was  continued  for  a  fort- 
night.    I  must  confess  that  in  some  subtle  and 

65 


Christian    Science 

mysterious  way  my  healer  appeared  to  influence 
me.  I  became  more  hopeful,  more  confident  of 
recovery.  I  thought  less  of  myself  and  my 
troubles;  the  prospect  of  returning  to  school  at 
the  end  of  term  was  no  longer  full  of  terrors. 
My  sleep,  which  for  months  had  been  restless 
and  broken,  improved  so  rapidly  that  Mrs.  Dalziel 
twice  came  into  my  room  and  woke  me  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  felt  as  if  some  dark 
shadow  were  lifting  from  me.  Looking  back  on 
this  fortnight  in  the  light  of  what  followed,  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  only  real  benefit  I  de- 
rived from  the  treatment  was  that  it  provided  me 
with  a  new  interest. 

Among  my  readers  there  must  be  those  who 
have  suffered  from  nervous  breakdown.  Noth- 
ing is  commoner  in  these  days  of  rush,  competi- 
tion, and  overpressure.  No  two  patients  have 
precisely  the  same  symptoms,  but  the  general 
characteristics  are  fairly  uniform.  Depression, 
self-absorption,  and  foreboding  fears  are  usually 
well-marked  features  of  the  trouble.  For  these 
the  best  cure  is  change  of  scene,  or,  if  this  can- 
not be  afforded,  complete  change  of  work.  If  I 
could  have  thrown  up  my  post  at  the  high-school 
at  the  beginning  of  the  summer  term,  when  1  first 
began  to  sink  into  a  low  state  of  health,  and  gone 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

for  three  months  to  Switzerland,  no  doubt  I 
should  have  returned  strong  and  vigorous  for  the 
winter.  But  foreign  travel,  that  surest  method 
of  knitting  up  the  ravelled  sleeve  of  health,  was 
beyond  my  means,  and,  like  many  nervous  pa- 
tients, I  had  struggled  on  too  long.  What  Mrs. 
Jansen  did  for  me  was  to  divert  my  thoughts  from 
the  dangerous  subject  of  myself,  my  own  sensa- 
tions, my  own  fears,  and  my  own  future.  If  I 
had  taken  to  bicycling,  or  had  gone  with  Helen 
Dalziel  to  llfracombe,  the  same  result  would  have 
followed.  As  soon  as  the  mind  becomes  inter- 
ested in  something  outside  itself,  the  process  of 
healing  has  begun.  With  many  nervous  patients 
the  first  sign  of  recovery  is  a  reviving  interest  in 
the  newspapers.  The  apathetic  stage  of  nervous 
disorder  is  specially  dangerous,  for  it  tends  to 
grow  confirmed,  until  a  once  brilliant  mind  may 
sink  into  itself  completely.  I  thought  that  Mrs. 
Jansen  was  curing  me.  I  grew  absorbed  in  the 
process  of  cure,  and  so  it  followed  that  I  both 
seemed  and  was  better  during  the  fortnight  I  was 
under  her  influence. 

I  was  conscious  all  the  while,  however,  that 
there  were  peculiar  perils  connected  with  Chris- 
tian Science.  I  had  too  clear  a  knowledge  of  the 
truths  of  Christianity  to  be  able  to  accept  counter- 

67 


Christian    Science 

felts.  There  was  much  in  Mrs.  Jansen's  conver- 
sation which  made  me  uneasy.  Sometimes  I  felt 
like  a  country  girl  who  has  stolen  by  night  to  a 
witch's  hovel.  Nothing  could  be  less  like  a 
witch's  home  than  the  handsome,  comfortable 
flat  at  Hyde  Park  Mansions,  but  I  had  the  same 
unpleasant  consciousness  of  seeking  health  by 
unrecognized,  and,  it  might  be,  unhallowed 
methods.  I  cannot  move  easily,  like  Mrs. 
Dalziel,  in  the  byways  of  obscure  religions.  I 
was  glad  that  my  minister  did  not  know  I  had 
been  seeking  counsel  from  Christian  Science,  and 
that  my  Scripture  class  at  the  high-school,  which 
I  was  preparing  for  the  Cambridge  examinations, 
had  no  idea  that  1  was  absorbing  the  strange  doc- 
trines of  a  new  religion.  Mr.  Dalziel,  who  had 
returned  from  a  scientific  congress  in  Germany, 
did  not  at  all  approve  of  my  visits  to  Mrs.  Jansen, 
but  wished  me  to  consult  a  first-rate  physician. 
"I  think,"  he  said  one  evening,  with  a  reproach- 
ful glance  at  his  wife,  ''that  when  we  leave  the 
broad  path  of  religion  and  science,  turning  our 
backs  on  medicine  and  surgery  to  follow  some 
miserable  charlatan  and  self-deceived  fanatic,  we 
make  a  very  poor  exchange." 
Mrs.  Jansen  and  I  had  a  talk  one  afternoon  on 

the  Christian  Science  teaching  about  death.     She 
68 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

had  been  reading  some  passages  from  Science 
and  Health  bearing  on  this  subject,  and  I  was 
curiously  inclined  to  prolong  the  conversation.  I 
do  not  know  if  my  readers  have  observed  that 
nervous  patients  are  not,  as  a  rule,  unwilling  to 
converse  about  death.  It  is  the  hale,  the  vigor- 
ous, those  in  whom  the  current  of  life  runs  fullest 
and  strongest,  who  most  dread  to  approach  this 
theme.  I  have  had  friends  who  hated  as  much 
as  Dr.  Johnson  did  to  hear  death  spoken  of  in 
general  company;  but  the  nervous  patient,  as  a 
rule,  feels  nothing  of  that  horror  which  made 
Johnson  cry  out  in  a  passion  to  the  friend  who 
had  spoken  of  death,  ''Don't  let  us  meet  to-mor- 
row." In  morbid,  nervous  states  there  are  so 
many  enemies  to  be  struggled  with  that  the  last 
conflict  of  all  may  be  thought  of  without  alarm. 
"Death,"  said  my  teacher,  "will  be  found  at 
length  to  be  a  mortal  dream,  which  comes  in 
darkness  and  disappears  with  the  light." 

"  But  surely  it  cannot  be  denied  that  pain  and 
death  are  the  central  facts  of  this  world.  Every 
one  has  suffered  pain;  every  one  is  finally  over- 
come by  death.  What  can  Christian  Science  say 
in  face  of  these  awful  facts  ?  " 

"  It  is  true  enough,"  said  Mrs.  Jansen,  "that  to 
mortal  man  pain,  disease,  and  death  are  the  central 

69 


Christian    Science 

facts  of  the  world;  but  we  Christian  Scientists 
have  learned  that  pain  can  be  overcome  by  the  un- 
derstanding and  realization  of  a  higher  law,  a  law 
above  mortal  mind,  the  divine  or  spiritual  law, 
wherein  pain  is  not  a  central  fact,  nor  a  fact  at  all." 

'*  Admitting  that  you  can  conquer  pain,  you 
know  you  cannot  conquer  death." 

*'Why,  then,  did  Christ  command  His  follow- 
ers to  *  raise  the  dead '  ?  As  Mrs.  Eddy  reminds 
us,  *  He  lifted  His  own  body  from  the  tomb.  In 
Him  truth  called  the  physical  man  from  the  tomb 
to  health,  and  the  so-called  dead  forthwith 
emerged  into  a  higher  manifestation  of  life.'" 

''But  I  do  not  understand  what  meaning  the 
command  to  raise  the  dead  has  for  the  modern 
healer." 

**What  concerns  us  most,"  Mrs.  Jansen  said, 
with  what  appeared  to  me  a  significant  evasive- 
ness, 'Ms  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  command, 
h  implies,  we  are  taught,  such  an  elevation  of 
the  understanding  as  will  enable  thought  to  ap- 
prehend the  living  beauty  of  love,  its  practicality, 
its  divine  energies,  its  health-giving  and  life-be- 
stowing qualities — yea,  its  power  to  demonstrate 
immortality.  This  end  Jesus  achieved,  both  by 
example  and  precept." 

"Then,  of  course,  you  admit  that  Christian 

70 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

Scientists  do  not  possess  the  gift  which  the  Apos- 
tles possessed  of  actually  raising  the  dead  to 
life?" 

"Our  work  is  to  destroy  the  belief  in  sickness 
and  death,  which  shuts  out  a  true  sense  of  heaven 
and  life  from  our  experience." 

I  may  here  say  that  Mrs.  Eddy's  teachings  on 
the  subject  of  death  appear  to  me,  after  careful 
study,  sufficient  of  themselves  to  prove  that 
Christian  Science  is  a  wild  delusion.  Christian 
Scientists  claim  apostolic  gifts,  but  even  granting 
that  by  mental  influence  they  may  cure  a  sick 
person  here  and  another  there,  they  are  helpless 
as  other  men  in  the  presence  of  death.  All  the 
vague  and  cloudy  language  with  which  in  their 
writings  they  seek  to  conceal  their  impotence 
only  brings  it,  for  the  earnest  student,  into 
stronger  relief.  So  far  as  I  can  learn,  they  do  not 
even  pretend  to  explain  why  this  miraculous  gift, 
which  the  Apostles  exercised,  is  not  possessed 
by  those  who  claim,  as  their  true  successors,  to 
accomplish  the  same  mighty  works. 

At  the  close  of  my  fortnight's  treatment,  Mrs. 
Jansen  was  obliged  to  return  to  America  some- 
what earlier  than  she  had  intended. 

"If  I  could  have  done  you  any  good  by  stay- 
ing," she  said,  "I  would  willingly  have  deferred 

71 


Christian    Science 

my  journey.  But  you  are  now  quite  well;  you 
do  not  need  me.  Tell  me  truthfully,  Miss  Har- 
wood,  do  you  not  feel  that  Christian  Science  has 
cured  you.?" 

I  was  certainly  much  better  that  afternoon,  but 
some  of  my  old  fears  came  back  at  the  prospect 
of  losing  Mrs.  Jansen.  ''I  seem  to  depend  on 
your  influence,"  I  said;  ''what  if  after  you  are 
gone  I  should  experience  a  relapse  ?" 

**I  do  not  think  you  will,  but  if  a  relapse  takes 
place  you  must  face  the  position  calmly  and 
courageously,  knowing  that  there  can  be  no  re- 
action in  truth.  Remember  the  passage  I  read 
you  last  week  about  relapses:  'Neither  disease 
itself  nor  fear  has  the  power  to  cause  disease  to 
relapse.  Disease  has  no  intelligence  wherewith 
to  move  itself  about,  or  to  change  itself  from  one 
form  to  another.  Meet  every  adverse  circum- 
stance as  its  master.  Observe  mind  instead  of 
body,  lest  aught  unfit  for  development  should 
enter  it.  Think  less  of  material  conditions  and 
more  of  spiritual.'  Sometimes  it  happens  that 
the  healer  is  to  blame  for  the  relapse,  because  she 
is  not  bringing  out  the  divine  principle  of  meta- 
physics, but  departing  from  its  rules.  To  suc- 
ceed in  healing,  we  must  conquer  our  own  beliefs 
and  fears,  as  well  as  those  of  the  patient,  and 

72 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

must  rise  daily  into  higher  and  holier  conscious- 
ness. It  is  because  I  have  conquered  my  own 
*  claims '  of  every  kind  that  I  can  confidently  as- 
sure you  that  your  recovery  will  be  permanent." 

"  I  should  be  very  grateful  if  you  would  write 
me  from  America." 

*'Ah,  that  I  fear  I  cannot  promise.  When  I 
return  to  America  I  shall  be  busy  with  other  pa- 
tients, who  will  claim  my  whole  time  and  atten- 
tion. When  you  dismiss  your  doctor  you  do  not 
expect  him  to  correspond  with  you.  If  at  any 
time  you  desire  correspondence  treatment  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  treat  you  at  our  usual  charges.  But 
in  your  place  I  should  not  even  contemplate  the 
possibility  of  relapse.  Attend  regularly  the  Chris- 
tian Science  services ;  study  Science  and  Health 
in  the  light  of  what  I  have  taught  you,  until  all 
its  apparent  difiFiculties  become  clear;  read  as 
little  as  you  can  of  any  other  literature.  If  you 
could  possibly  afford  the  twenty  guineas,  it  would 
be  a  great  assistance  to  your  own  development 
to  go  through  a  course  of  study  in  healing.  Even 
if  you  never  became  a  practitioner,  the  time  and 
money  would  be  well  expended." 

''Twenty  guineas  is  nearly  a  whole  term's 
salary." 

"Well,"    said    Mrs.    Jansen,    sharply,    ''and 

73 


Christian    Science 

surely  you  do  not  expect  to  receive  benefits  like 
these  for  nothing.  It  is  my  experience  that  the 
most  difficult  cases  to  heal  are  those  of  people 
who  can  pay  and  do  not  want  to.  The  eager- 
ness to  get  something  for  nothing  is  a  sin,  and 
Christian  Scientists  would  be  helping  to  perpet- 
uate the  sin  if  they  went  to  people  and  healed 
them  gratuitously.  It  would  be  a  sin  on  our  part 
to  perpetuate  this  propensity.  Besides,  I  am  not 
suggesting  that  you  should  throw  away  money, 
but  invest  it  at  a  very  large  interest.  What  is  to 
hinder  you  in  your  turn  from  curing  other  nerv- 
ous sufferers  ?  I  would  give  you  a  course  of 
study  by  correspondence  whenever  you  pleased." 
I  spent  as  much  time  as  possible  with  Mrs. 
Jansen  during  her  last  week  in  England,  and  she 
told  me  that  I  was  looking  stronger  and  healthier 
every  day.  The  Dalziels  said  they  did  not  notice 
much  improvement  in  my  appearance,  but  when 
I  looked  in  the  glass  I  certainly  seemed  fresher 
and  rosier  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  holidays. 
I  might  have  had  the  sense  to  see  that  this  was 
the  natural  result  of  five  weeks  of  idleness,  good 
food,  and  pleasant,  cheerful  surroundings,  but  I 
persuaded  myself  that  the  credit  belonged  to 
Christian  Science.     When  the  last  morning  came 

I  drove  with  Mrs.  Jansen  in  the  cab  to  Euston  sta- 
74 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

tion.  She  looked  prettier  and  more  fascinating 
than  ever  in  a  grey  cashmere  gown  with  white  silk 
front,  a  grey  velvet  Eton  jacket,  a  muff  and  scarf 
of  chinchilla.  Her  hat  was  grey  felt,  with  droop- 
ing white  feather,  and  I  fancied  she  looked  alto- 
gether too  delicate  and  dainty  to  face  the  stormy 
September  ocean.  It  was  curious  that  a  creature 
so  fairy-like,  with  spiritual  blue  eyes,  which 
looked  as  if  no  sordid  thought  had  ever  crossed 
her  soul,  should  yet  have,  to  put  it  bluntly,  so 
strong  a  love  for  money.  She  talked  a  great  deal 
about  money  as  we  waited  for  the  train  to  start. 
**I  shall  earn  two  or  three  hundred  pounds  be- 
tween now  and  Christmas,"  she  said.  "Ours  is 
a  better  profession  than  teaching,  Miss  Harwood. 
I  can  tell  you  my  husband  finds  me  a  help  in  pil- 
ing up  his  fortune.  If  you  spend  that  twenty 
guineas  it  will  come  back  to  you  a  hundredfold." 
"  Shall  I  get  you  the  illustrated  papers  ?  " 
*'No,  thank  you,  dear.  I  am  not  much  of  a 
reader.  I  am  to  spend  a  few  days  with  a  lady 
at  Liverpool  before  I  sail.  She  requires  treat- 
ment, and  has  sent  me  the  details  of  her  case.  I 
must  get  them  up  on  the  journey.  Good-bye, 
then.  Miss  Harwood.  Mind  you  keep  well  and 
strong,  and  be  ready  when  you  are  challenged  to 
speak  a  good  word  for  Christian  Science." 

75 


Christian    Science 

She  waved  her  little  lace  handkerchief  from 
the  window  as  the  train  moved  out  of  the  station, 
and  I  was  left  to  take  up  the  burden  of  life  alone. 
In  three  days  the  autumn  term  would  begin. 

I  left  Mrs.  Dalziel's  that  afternoon,  and  returned 
to  our  lodgings.  I  protested  that  I  was  thor- 
oughly cured,  that  I  had  never  felt  better  in  my 
life,  but  with  the  departure  of  Mrs.  Jansen  a  re- 
action set  in,  and  that  night  I  slept  only  four 
hours.  I  woke  at  five  o'clock,  feeling  as  miser- 
able as  ever^  and  tried  to  calm  myself  by  repeat- 
ing passages  from  Science  and  Health,  ''There 
is  no  sickness;  there  is  no  fear;  there  is  only 
health  and  love  and  good-will."  I  told  myself 
that  this  *'  claim  "  of  nervousness  must  be  forced 
to  yield.  ''You  are  strong;  youare  well;  weari- 
ness is  only  a  belief  of  mortal  mind."  Somehow 
these  words,  when  separated  from  the  person- 
ality of  my  healer,  seemed  the  idlest  of  nonsense. 
However,  I  persevered  with  her  instructions,  and 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  morning  reading 
Christian  Science  books.  Helen  returned  in  the 
evening,  and  for  a  while  her  talk  diverted  my 
mind  from  myself.  "You  look  better,"  she 
said,  "but  you  ought  to  have  been  with  us  at 
Ilfracombe.  Tell  me,  do  you  feel  quite  strong 
and  able  for  the  work  of  next  term  }    My  sister- 

76 


A  Fancied  Cure  and  Relapse 

in-law  wrote  that  you  have  been  cured  by  the 
Christian  Science  people." 

"  I  am  very  well  indeed,"  I  repHed.  "  I  intend 
to  work  harder  than  ever  this  term.  I  am  de- 
termined that  my  form  shall  retrieve  its  credit." 

We  plunged  into  school  talk,  but  all  the  while 
I  was  painfully  conscious  of  the  difference  be- 
tween my  own  state  of  health  and  my  friend's. 
She  had  an  inexhaustible  reserve  of  vigor  and 
energy,  while  I,  after  we  had  talked  for  an  hour 
or  so,  was  forced  to  relapse  into  silence.  A 
nervous  headache  came  on,  and  1  went  to  bed  at 
nine.  Helen  seemed  a  good  deal  concerned 
about  me,  and  declared  that  the  Christian  Scien- 
tists had  done  me  more  harm  than  good.  I  ral- 
lied a  little  after  we  returned  to  school,  but  in 
three  weeks  I  felt  as  ill  as  ever,  and  could  only 
just  manage,  by  a  desperate  and  constantly  re- 
curring battle,  to  get  through  the  work  of  each 
day.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  term  an  adver- 
tisement appeared  in  the  Journal  of  Education 
for  a  head  mistress  for  a  new  high-school  in  a 
large  seaside  town.  Helen  strongly  advised  me 
to  apply  for  it.  'M  believe,"  she  said,  ''that  the 
best  cure  for  your  ill-health  would  be  a  change 
of  work  and  a  better  salary.  My  aunt,  Mrs. 
Cawthorne,  lives  at  S ,  and  is  one  of  the  most 

77 


Christian    Science 

influential  people  on  the  local  council.  She  is 
anxious  1  should  apply  for  the  post,  but  there  is 
a  prospect  of  a  school  near  London  falling  vacant 
after  Christmas,  and  although  nothing  definite 
has  been  said,  I  believe  the  council  will  give  me 
the  appointment.  London  would  suit  me  better 
than  the  country,  as  nearly  all  my  relations  are 
here,  but  if  you  could  only  get  a  head-mistress- 
ship  in  a  bracing  seaside  town,  I  believe  your 
nervousness  would  disappear." 

I  followed  Helen's  advice  and  sent  in  an  appli- 
cation for  the  post,  but  with  little  hope  of  ob- 
taining it,  as  I  had  so  often  been  passed  over 
already.  One  thing  was  certain:  Christian  Sci- 
ence, as  practiced  by  Mrs.  Jansen,  had  proved  a 
failure  in  my  case.  Could  the  reason  be  that  her 
fondness  for  money  had  destroyed  her  spiritual 
power  ?  In  that  case,  it  might  be  worth  while 
for  me  to  seek  another  healer.  But  before  doing 
so  I  determined  to  consult  my  minister,  who  for 
several  years  occupied  an  important  pulpit  in 
New  York.  He  knows  about  Christian  Science, 
for  I  once  heard  him  describe  it  as  "a  soul-de- 
stroying religion,  with  which  no  Christian  can 
safely  tamper." 


78 


CHAPTER  V 

A  FINAL  EXPOSURE 

Dr.  Grainger,  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church  of  which  I  am  a  member,  called  to  see 
me  on  the  first  Saturday  of  October.  He  said  he 
had  heard,  through  Mrs.  Dalziel,  that  1  had  been 
in  poor  health,  and  that  I  was  disappointed  with 
the  results  of  Christian  Science  treatment.  He 
seemed  pleased  when  I  said  it  had  been  my  in- 
tention to  consult  him  before  applying  to  any 
other  healer,  as  I  understood  he  had  made  a 
study  of  this  subject. 

''Yes,"  he  said,  ''during  my  ministry  in  New 
York  I  was  brought  much  in  contact  with  the 
Christian  Scientists.  They  were  most  clever  in 
drawing  away  the  members  of  churches;  as 
proselytizers  they  are  more  active  than  even  the 
Plymouth  Brethren.  Are  you  aware,  I  wonder, 
that  there  are  two  sects  among  them  ?  Perhaps 
I  ought  rather  to  say  there  are  thousands  of  per- 
sons who  are  Christian  Scientists  while  still  re- 
maining members  of  their  own  churches.  These 
people  maintain  that  the  great  mistake  of  Mrs. 

79 


Christian    Science 

Eddy— they  hate  the  very  name  of  Eddyite— was 
in  founding  a  new  sect,  with  doctrines  and  a 
ritual  of  its  own." 

''Then  are  the  Christian  Scientists  within  the 
churches  as  useful  and  as  orthodox  as  their  fel- 
low-members?" 

''Certainly  not;  their  heads  are  so  filled  with 
the  peculiar  ideas  of  Christian  Science  that  they 
lose  all  interest  in  preaching,  and  become  im- 
patient of  ordinary  services.  As  a  rule,  they  take 
small  part  in  religious  work,  except  with  the 
idea  of  'teaching  health'  or  making  'ideal  sug- 
gestions,' in  which  capacity  they  may  become  a 
real  danger  to  others,  especially  to  the  young. 
Little  by  little  they  drift  away  from  church  fel- 
lowship. Ministers  should  be  on  their  guard 
against  these  Christian  Scientists  within  the 
churches;  I  consider  them  far  more  dangerous 
than  the  Eddyites." 

"Do  you  think  there  are  any  of  these  secret 
Christian  Scientists  in  London  ?  " 

"I  happen  to  know  there  are  a  good  many. 
Not  long  ago  a  friend  of  mine  was  present  at  a 
lecture  given  by  a  lady  who  had  gathered  a  large 
following  through  permitting,  and  even  recom- 
mending, her  pupils  to  remain  in  their  own  de- 
nominations, and  to  work  for  Christian  Science 

80 


A  Final   Exposure 

from  that  vantage-ground.  My  friend  ques- 
tioned several  of  the  audience  when  the  lecturer 
was  gone^  and  discovered  that  they  were,  almost 
without  exception,  members  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Many  would  eagerly  accept  Christian 
Science  teachings  and  practice  who  would  hesi- 
tate to  take  the  conspicuous  step  of  joining  a  new 
and  little-understood  dissenting  body." 

''Then  do  you  consider  that  the  doctrines  of 
the  Christian  Scientists  are  really  dangerous  ?  " 

'M  am  convinced,"  my  pastor  answered  very 
gravely,  ''that  there  are  no  more  dangerous  doc- 
trines being  spread  in  our  time.  The  name 
'Christian  Science'  is  most  misleading,  and  is 
meant  to  deceive,  if  it  were  possible,  the  very 
elect.  What  right  have  they  to  bear  the  name  of 
Christian  ?  What  is  their  attitude,  for  instance, 
to  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per? Their  baptism,  they  say,  is  a  purification 
from  all  error;  their  Eucharist  is  spiritual  com- 
munion with  the  one  God.  They  hold  that  the 
bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven  is  truth; 
of  the  wine  they  say,  '  Our  cup  is  the  cross,  our 
wine  the  inspiration  of  love— the  draught  our 
Master  drank  and  commended  to  His  followers.' 
For  the  'material  rite,'  as  they  call  it,  they  have 
no  respect  whatever." 

81 


Christian    Science 

''Have  Christian  Scientists  no  altar,  no  com- 
munion service?" 

"No,  because  they  say  that  commemoration  is 
not  needed,  since  truth  and  love  are  with  them. 
I  wish  that  all  who  are  tempted  by  the  fascina- 
tions of  Christian  Science  would  simply  make  a 
study  of  its  teaching  on  the  Holy  Communion. 
If  they  themselves  are  Christians  at  all,  they  must 
see  how  wide  a  gulf  lies  between  this  teaching 
and  that  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  '  Why  ascribe 
this  inspiration  to  a  dead  rite,'  they  say,  'instead 
of  showing  that  truth  has  come  to  the  under- 
standing, by  casting  out  error  and  by  making  the 
body  holy  and  acceptable  unto  God  ? '  Mrs.  Eddy 
says  somewhere  in  plain  words,  'If  Christ — 
Truth — has  come  to  us  in  demonstration,  no  com- 
memoration is  requisite,  for  He  is  Immanuel,  or 
God  with  us ;  and  if  a  friend  be  with  us,  why  need 
we  memorials  of  that  friend  ? '  The  last  com- 
mand of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  means  no  more 
to  the  Christian  Scientists  than  to  the  careless 
multitudes  who  stood  by  and  gazed  on  His  cross. 
Yet  they  dare  to  call  themselves  Christians." 

I  reminded  Dr.  Grainger  that  it  was  often  diffi- 
cult to  understand  the  long,  rambling,  and  wordy 
disquisitions  in  the  Christian  Science  text-book. 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "but  there  are  smaller  and 

82 


A  Final   Exposure 

simpler  books,  by  the  study  of  which  many  per- 
sons profess  to  have  been  cured.  A  lady  in  my 
own  congregation  left  me  because,  as  she  said, 
she  had  been  healed  by  reading  No  and  Yes,  a 
small  pamphlet  in  which  Eddyite  doctrines  are 
briefly  set  forth.  This  booklet  might  be  de> 
scribed  as  a  catechism  of  Christian  Science.  A 
great  many  questions  are  asked,  and  though  the 
answers  are  sometimes  rather  mystifying,  as  in 
all  Mrs.  Eddy's  publications,  a  plain  mind  can 
still  see  the  extreme  heterodoxy  of  the  new  re- 
ligion. Under  the  category  of  *Yes  and  No' 
comes  the  question,  '  Is  there  a  personal  Deity  ? ' 
to  which  the  answer  is  that  limitless  personality 
is  inconceivable;  that  God  is  love,  and  love  is 
principle,  not  person.  '  Is  there  a  personal  devil  ? ' 
The  answer  is  that  evil  is  a  quality,  not  a  person, 
and  that  as  mortals  we  need  to  discern  the  claims 
of  evil  and  fight  them,  not  as  realities,  but  as  il- 
lusions, since  Deity  can  have  no  warfare  against 
Himself." 

"Sin,  too,  they  declare  to  be  a  mere  illusion  of 
mortal  mind.^" 

**  That  is  another  point  on  which  they  are  di- 
vided by  an  impassable  gulf  from  Christianity. 
Sin,  they  say,  is  obsolete,  dust  returning  to  dust, 
nothingness  to  nothingness.     'Sin  is  not  mind; 

83 


Christian    Science 

it  is  just  the  supposition  that  there  is  more  than 
one  mind.  It  issues  a  false  claim,  and  the  claim, 
being  worthless,  is  in  reality  no  claim  whatever.' 
How  different  from  the  language  of  St.  Paul  and 
of  all  the  saints.  What  would  St.  Augustine,  or 
Thomas  a  Kempis,  or  Martin  Luther  have  said  to 
such  teaching.^  Christian  Scientists  are  always 
grumbling  because  the  churches  will  have  no  fel- 
lowship with  them.  They  excuse  themselves 
for  founding  a  new  sect  by  replying  that  the 
churches  drove  them  out.  The  churches  did  not 
drive  them  out,  but  unless  there  can  be  fellow- 
ship between  Christ  and  Belial,  there  can  be  none 
between  evangelical  believers  and  Christian 
Scientists.  They  are  seeking  to  undermine  the 
foundations  of  the  faith.  Think  of  the  texts 
which  are  dearest  to  the  hearts  of  Christian  peo- 
ple: '  Where  sin  abounded  grace  did  much  more 
abound';  'The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'  In  the  mouths  of 
Christian  Scientists  these  are  but  a  mocking 
blasphemy.  I  am  sure  the  time  has  come  when 
the  pulpit  should  lift  up  its  voice  against  these 
deadly  errors.  They  are  spreading  in  London, 
much  faster  than  many  ministers  imagine." 

**But  the  Christian  Scientists  profess  a  certain 
reverence  for  our  Lord  ?  " 

84 


A  Final   Exposure 

''It  might  be  better  if  they  openly  rejected 
Him,  for  then,  at  least,  we  should  deal  with  hon- 
est enemies.  What  reverence  for  Christ  can  re- 
main in  the  hearts  of  their  pupils,  who  are  taught 
in  answer  to  the  question,  *  Is  sin  forgiven  ? '  that 
'  God  pities  our  woes  with  the  love  of  a  human 
father  for  his  child,  not  by  becoming  human,  and 
knowing  sin,  or  nought,  but  by  removing  our 
knowledge  of  what  is  not.  He  could  not  destroy 
our  woes  totally  if  He  possessed  any  knowledge 
of  them.  His  sympathy  is  divine,  not  human.' 
Compare  this  with  the  words  in  the  Hebrews, 
*We  have  not  a  High  Priest  who  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but 
was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin.'  On  the  Atonement,  their  views  are 
still  far  wide.  They  strongly  deny  that  there  was 
any  'personal  and  material  blood-giving  in  the 
Atonement,'  and  maintain  that  the  work  of  Jesus 
would  lose  its  whole  efficacy  if  we  regarded  it 
'as  a  proof  that  sin  is  known  to  the  divine  mind, 
and  that  what  is  unlike  God  demands  His  con- 
tinual presence,  knowledge,  and  power  to  meet 
and  to  master  it.'  They  do  not  believe  in  prayer 
as  we  understand  prayer.  The  command,  '  Ask, 
and  ye  shall  receive,'  means  nothing  for  them. 

At  their  services  there  is  an  interval  for  silent 
85 


Christian    Science 

prayer,  but  they  object  to  audible  prayer.  They 
think  it  hinders  growth,  and  makes  involuntary 
hypocrites.  I  really  cannot  think  of  any  single 
doctrine  which  they  accept  simply  and  without 
reserve  in  common  with  the  Christian  Church." 

At  the  end  of  his  visit.  Dr.  Grainger  said:  **I 
have  in  my  house  at  present  a  guest  from  New 
York,  Miss  Edith  Grove,  who  has  been  through 
the  whole  process  of  healing,  as  you  have,  and 
has  found  it  equally  ineffective.  The  method  of 
treatment  followed  in  Miss  Grove's  case  was 
peculiar  and  interesting.  Before  you  seek  out 
another  healer  I  wish  you  would  spend  an  even- 
ing with  us  and  hear  her  experiences." 

I  was  delighted  to  agree  to  this  suggestion,  and 
three  days  later  Mrs.  Grainger  sent  me  an  in- 
vitation to  supper. 

Miss  Grove  has  been,  like  myself,  a  teacher, 
and  has  suffered  from  a  peculiar  form  of  melan- 
cholia, which  was  worse  than  my  nervousness, 
because,  although  it  came  on  in  intermittent 
attacks,  the  symptoms  while  it  lasted  were  much 
more  severe.  Miss  Grove  often  found  herself  too 
ill  to  see  her  friends,  and  would  shut  herself  up 
in  her  room  for  days  together.  Owing  to  the 
recurring  attacks  of  this  malady,  she  had  lost  her 
post  as  a  drawing-mistress,  and  was  in  a  very 


A  Final   Exposure 

low  state  when  she  came  into  the  hands  of  a 
mental  healer.  This  gentleman  declined  to  treat 
patients  personally,  but  he  strongly  recommended 
her  to  use  a  book  called  Ideal  Suggestions  through 
Mental  Photography,  by  Henry  Wood.  Many 
things  in  this  work  resemble  the  teachings  of 
Christian  Science,  but  Mrs.  Eddy  and  her  sect  are 
nowhere  mentioned  in  it.  It  is  well,  clearly,  and 
picturesquely  written;  its  instructions  are  far 
simpler  and  more  explicit  than  those  of  any 
Eddyite  manual;  and  I  learn  that  it  is  being  much 
used  in  London,  especially  by  those  who  wish 
to  receive  or  practice  mental  healing  while  at 
the  same  time  retaining  their  connection  with 
churches. 

After  supper,  as  we  sat  round  the  fire  in  Mrs. 
Grainger's  cozy  drawing-room.  Miss  Grove  told 
us  her  story.  She  is  about  my  own  age,  and 
although  she  is  now  in  good  spirits,  and  is  never 
prostrated  by  her  mysterious  illness,  she  looks 
pale  and  delicate,  as  if  the  past  held  for  her  too 
many  sombre  days.  Mrs.  Grainger  told  me  that 
through  the  death  of  an  aunt  she  inherited  an  in- 
come of  ^350  a  year,  and  that,  as  it  was  no 
longer  necessary  for  her  to  work,  she  has  spent 
two  years  in  foreign  travel. 

''The  text-book  of  healing  that  was  recom- 
87 


Christian    Science 

mended  to  me,"  said  Miss  Grove,  ''was,  as  Dr. 
Grainger  has  told  you,  Mr.  Wood's  Ideal  Sug- 
gestion.   The  peculiarity  of  this  book  is  that  half 
of  it  is  marked  off  as  a  practical  guide.     On  the 
right-hand  page  there  is  printed,  as  if  on  a  large 
card  enclosed  by  a  simple  ruling,  some  brief  say- 
ing calculated  to  calm  the  mind.     Here  are  a  few 
of  the  sayings,  which  are  printed  in  very  large, 
bold  lettering:    'I  make  harmony';    'I  listen'; 
*  Pain  is  friendly ' ;  M  look  upward ' ;  '  There  is  no 
death ' ;  '  I  am  free ' ;  *  I  will,  be  thou  clean ' ;  '  I 
am  not  body ' ;  'I  am  part  of  a  great  whole ' ; 
'Healing  is  Biblical';  'Prayer  is  answered.'    On 
the  left-hand  page  there  is  a  meditation  appro- 
priate   to    the  motto  opposite.     What   I,   as   a 
patient,  had  to  do,  was  to  retire  each  day  to  a 
quiet  room  and  be  alone  in  silence.     The  next 
rule  bade  me  assume  a  restful  position,  in  an 
easy-chair  or  otherwise;  I  was  to  breathe  deeply 
and  rapidly  for  a  few  minutes  and  to  relax  the 
physical  body.     All  thoughts  of  the  world  out- 
side were  to  be  rigorously  excluded,  and  the 
mind  was  to  be  fixed  on  the  meditation  on  the 
left-hand  page  till  its  truth  was  thoroughly  ab- 
sorbed.    The  next  step  was  to  place  the  'sug- 
gestion,' or  motto,   printed  large  on  the  right- 
hand  page,  at  a  suitable  distance  from  the  eyes, 


A  Final   Exposure 

and  to  fix  them  upon  it  for  from  ten  to  twenty 
minutes.  After  that  the  eyes  were  to  be  closed 
for  from  twenty  to  thirty  minutes  more,  so  that 
the  mind's  eye  might  behold  the  words  of  the 
motto,  and  that  it  might  permeate  the  whole 
being.  The  motto  was  to  be  recalled  to  mind 
during  wakeful  hours  of  the  night,  and,  finally, 
I  was  encouraged  to  believe  that  if  relapses 
occurred  or  progress  seemed  slow,  I  was  not  to 
despair,  for  the  cure  was  not  magical,  but  a 
natural  growth." 

"Does  it  not  sound  very  much  like  hypno- 
tism ?"  said  Dr.  Grainger. 

**  At  first  it  had  almost  a  hypnotic  effect  on  me. 
During  the  half-hour  when  my  eyes  were  shut, 
and  I  was  beholding  the  motto  with  my  inward 
vision,  I  more  than  once  fell  into  a  slumber  and 
awoke  refreshed.  But  after  trying  the  remedy  a 
number  of  times  its  effect  for  good  disappeared; 
and  I  will  tell  you  why.  In  my  worn-out  con- 
dition, I  found,  for  one  thing,  that  I  could  not  fix 
my  attention  for  long  on  any  one  idea.  My  mind 
wandered  away  into  troublesome  and  exhausting 
trains  of  thought,  and  my  brain  was  excited 
rather  than  soothed.  Then,  again,  nervous  pa- 
tients often  suffer  from  weak  sight  and  dull  hear- 
ing, maladies  which  improve  as  more  healthy 

89 


Christian    Science 

conditions  reassert  themselves.  All  the  time  I 
was  suffering  from  this  severe  depression  I  had 
great  trouble  with  my  eyes,  and  I  found  that  it 
tired  them  too  much  to  gaze  long  on  one  object. 
By  the  end  of  ten  or  twenty  minutes  the  letters 
were  all  mixed  up  and  swimming  together,  and  I 
suffered  for  hours  afterward  from  nervous  head- 
ache. This  was  on  my  bad  days;  when  I  felt 
bright  and  vigorous,  it  was  no  trial,  but  a  pleas- 
ure, to  gaze  upon  the  healing  'suggestion,'  only 
then  I  did  not  need  it.  In  one  word,  the  essential 
feature  of  my  case  was  that  I  had  not  strength  or 
energy  of  mind  and  body  to  apply  to  myself  any 
of  the  so-called  'suggestion  cures.*  Friends  tried 
them  and  professed  to  derive  benefit,  but  I  no- 
ticed that  in  time  they  also  went  back.  It  was 
my  aunt's  legacy,  and  not  any  form  of  treatment, 
which  restored  me  to  health  and  happiness." 

My  thoughts  returned  to  my  own  application 
for  the  head-mistress-ship  of  S ,  and  I  won- 
dered if  any  such  fortunate  chance  would  come  in 
my  way.  How  many  of  our  troubles  vanish  like 
moonshine  when  we  seem  to  be  ''getting  on." 

Miss  Grove  told  me  a  curious  story  of  a  drunk- 
ard who  was  supposed  to  be  a  Christian  Science 
convert.  Students  of  Christian  Science  manuals 
are  aware  that  a  very  strict  line  is  taken  by  the 

90 


A  Final   Exposure 

Scientists  with  regard  both  to  alcohol  and  tobacco. 
Mrs.  Eddy  often  goes  out  of  her  way  to  denounce, 
not  only  these,  but  tea  and  coffee  also.  Of  smok- 
ing she  remarks,  "Puffing  the  obnoxious  fumes 
of  tobacco,  or  chewing  a  leaf  naturally  attractive 
to  no  animal  except  a  loathsome  worm,  is  at  least 
disgusting."  However  much  opinions  may  dif- 
fer on  this  point,  every  one  will  agree  that  if 
Christian  Science  could  cure  drunkenness  it  would 
be  doing  useful  work.  The  healers  try  to  put 
before  the  victim  of  alcohol  high  thoughts,  such 
as  that  he  is  ideally  whole,  potentially  perfect, 
and  they  keep  such  ideals  before  him  for  a  cer- 
tain time  every  day.  In  the  case  of  which  Miss 
Grove  told  us  the  man  was  shown  some  such 
mottoes  as  those  previously  mentioned,  which 
were  framed  in  electric  light,  or  in  small  gas-jets 
on  a  background  of  darkness.  The  hope  was 
that  "  after  a  few  days  they  would  stand  out  be- 
fore the  mind  by  night  and  by  day.  They  would 
be  seen  in  words  of  fire  before  the  saloon  en- 
trance, and  flame  up  in  the  mind's  eye  at  every 
call  of  the  appetite.  The  higher  self-conscious- 
ness thus  gained  would  make  it  plain  to  the  man 
that  it  was  only  the  animal^  and  not  himself,  who 
craved  the  stimulant." 
Miss  Grove  told  us  that  the  cure  worked  well 
91 


Christian    Science 

for  a  week  or  two,  but  then  came  a  relapse,  and 
for  a  time  the  man's  friends  despaired  of  him. 
Happily  he  was  brought  under  the  influence  of  a 
Gospel  Temperance  mission  which  the  Metho- 
dists were  conducting  in  his  town,  and  from  that 
time  his  life  was  renewed,  and  he  became  a  steady 
abstainer.  "It  was  one  more  proof,"  Miss  Grove 
added,  ''that  no  power  except  divine  grace  can 
permanently  cure  the  drunkard,  and  that  all  mere 
human  remedies  are  too  weak." 

Miss  Grove  told  us  another  curious  fact,  namely, 
that  many  Christian  Scientists,  both  in  America 
and  London,  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  new  reli- 
gion not  to  Mrs.  Eddy,  but  to  a  Dr.  P.  P.  Quimby, 
a  magnetic  doctor  and  Spiritualist  who  flourished 
in  Massachusetts  about  the  middle  of  the  century. 
He,  and  not  Mrs.  Eddy,  is  the  apostle  of  the  sec- 
tion which  remains  within  the  churches.  Per- 
haps he  has  been  chosen  because  so  many  dislike 
the  idea  of  taking  their  religious  inspiration  from 
a  woman.  Mrs.  Eddy  herself  claims  that  she  made 
the  discovery  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Quimby,  and 
that  he  was  in  no  way  connected  with  it.  She 
has  evidently  been  much  troubled  by  the  tend- 
ency among  her  students  to  break  away  from 
their  allegiance,  for  she  warns  them  in  various 
passages  against  the  evils  of  schism. 

92 


A   Final    Exposure 

I  have  now  tried  to  put  before  my  readers  as 
clearly  as  possible  the  facts  about  Christian  Sci- 
ence, so  far  as  I  came  in  contact  with  it;  I  have 
shown  how  fascinating  it  is  at  the  beginning,  es- 
pecially to  nervous  women;  I  have  told  how 
worthless  its  so-called  ''healing"  has  proved  both 
to  myself  and  others.  There  are  aspects  of  the 
healers'  work  on  which  I  have  not  ventured  to 
touch,  but  there  is  one  matter  connected  with 
their  medical  practice  to  which  attention  should 
be  called.  Christian  Science  practitioners  actually 
dare  to  undertake  the  conduct  of  maternity  cases, 
and  Mrs.  Eddy  gives  instances  in  her  text-book 
in  which  she  has  called  in  a  regular  practitioner, 
and  has,  while  ostensibly  obeying  his  directions, 
most  daringly  and  recklessly  disregarded  them 
the  moment  he  has  left  the  house.  She  recom- 
mends healers  and  students  to  understand  Chris- 
tian Science  practice  in  this  respect,  and  even 
says  it  is  a  necessary  branch  of  their  study.  If 
no  fatalities  have  hitherto  resulted  from  such 
practice,  the  reason  can  only  be  that  the  public 
is  too  wise  to  trust  these  incompetent,  unauthor- 
ized, and  uncertificated  persons.  This  is  a  de- 
partment of  Christian  Science  about  which  very 
little  is  known,  but  one  cannot  open  the  books 
or  journals  of  the  sect  without  finding  references 

93 


Christian    Science 

to  "Christian  Science  infants,"  who  are  declared 
to  be  specially  fine  children.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  Truth,  in  a  series  of  articles  to  which  the 
Christian  Scientists  have  attempted  no  reply, 
should  remind  the  public  of  the  liability  of  a 
''healer"  to  a  charge  of  manslaughter  should  a 
patient  die  while  under  treatment.  There  is, 
unfortunately,  no  doubt  that  the  law  permits 
Christian  Scientists  to  proselytize,  since  they  do 
not  ''wilfully  and  falsely  pretend  to  be  regular 
practitioners."  It  is  probable  that  their  patients 
will  be  chiefly  drawn  from  two  classes:  (i)  nerv- 
ous invalids,  whom  they  cannot  permanently 
cure,  but  may  seem  to  cure  so  long  as  the  ex- 
citement of  the  treatment  lasts,  and  (2)  sufferers 
from  chronic  and  incurable  diseases,  for  whom 
the  doctors  can  do  nothing.  Most  assuredly 
Christian  Science  will  not  succeed  where  the 
best  medical  skill  has  failed.  The  utmost  it  can 
do  is  to  raise  false  hopes. 

In  America  there  is  a  saying  which  has  become 
a  commonplace  by  frequent  repetition:  "Chris- 
tian Science  is  neither  Christian  nor  scientific." 
That  is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter,  and 
the  people  who  fling  away  their  money  on  the 
healers  are  supporting  a  system  of  mischievous 
roguery. 

94 


A   Final    Exposure 

When  I  returned  from  Dr.  Grainger's,  I  found 
a  letter  from  the  secretary  of  the  local  council  at 

S .    To  my  astonishment,  I  was  invited  to 

come  as  one  of  three  candidates  to  be  interviewed 
on  the  following  Monday.  It  did  not  seem  at  all 
likely  that  I  would  be  selected;  indeed,  I  could 
not  help  wondering,  as  the  train  carried  me 
northward  on  the  fateful  morning,  whether  Anne 
Harwood,  who  had  been  giving  way  to  nerves 
and  consulting  quacks  and  dabbling  in  heterodox 
theories,  was  a  fit  and  proper  person  to  preside 
over  a  school.  Ought  I  not  to  confess  the  full 
story  of  my  weakness  to  the  managers  ? 

•I*  •!•  "!•  •»*  ^  •!* 

I  had  a  very  pleasant  and  reassuring  chat  with 
them,  and  although  they  deferred  their  decision, 
I  could  see  that  I  had  made  a  favorable  impres- 
sion. 

''I  think,  my  dear,  you  have  conquered  them," 

said  Mrs.  Cawthorne,  my  kind  hostess,  as  we 

strolled  after  luncheon  on  the  marine  parade.    "  I 

am  thankful  you  said  nothing  about  Christian 

Science;  these  business  men  would  have  thought 

you  too  simple.     Miss  Duncombe  tells  us  you 

are  a  most  successful  teacher.     After  a  month  of 

our  sea-air  you  will  be  as  strong  as  ever." 

I  am  glad  to  say  I  was  accepted ;  my  income 
95 


Christian    Science 

rose  at  once  to  ^230,  with  prospects  of  further 
increase.  The  bracing  air  and  the  new  responsi- 
bilities and  especially  that  most  exhilarating  of 
all  tonics — a  little  success — have  completely  dis- 
pelled my  nervousness.  My  friends  in  London 
still  tease  me  occasionally  about  Christian  Science, 
but  I  leave  their  taunts  unanswered.  I  know 
too  well  how  foolish  I  have  been,  and  I  shall  not 
be  victimized  a  second  time.  By  the  way,  I  hear 
that  Mrs.  Jansen  has  had  a  serious  breakdown  in 
health,  and  is  no  longer  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  Scientist. 


96 


DATE  DUE 

i^ 

Demco,  inc.  38-293 

BP955.H34 

An  English  view  of  Christian  science; 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00010  5124 


